And the People Stayed Home

Happy Monday, everyone!

Sorry about the technical issues with the Worship Live Stream yesterday. We came in and did the test on Saturday and everything went great. So much for preparation! If you lost sound in the middle of the service, that's because your Pastor forgot to turn on his microphone! There is a delay on the feed, so by the time you all texted us there was no sound, I was already praying! So, Seth had to wait for me to finish before he could signal me. At least we had the words of the Scripture to read, though!

Also, if your picture was dark, there was nothing wrong with your monitor. After the service we discovered a setting had been changed on the camera. So when we had it on the window at the beginning, it adjusted for that light and then never adjusted back. So we've fixed that!

And, yes - we know there was a hum in the sound and that caused the piano and microphones to very quiet. We thought we had that fixed from the week before. Right at the end, during Matt's postlude, you may have noticed the hum went away and the sound got much better. That's the precise moment I turned off my microphone! So, we know that means there is some sort of radio fequency interference with my microphone. We hope to have that problem solved by next Sunday.

Speaking of next Sunday, it's Palm Sunday. We have ordered 100 palm fronds and will place them in a container at the church under the portico next to the door by 2:00 p.m. tomorrow (Tuesday, March 31). If you would like to come get a palm frond or two for your family, please do so. (If you would like me to bring you one, call me at 276.525.5202) Again - they will be under the portico, next to the door.

Here's what we would like you to do - make a video of you waving your palms (just a short video will do) and email it to treynolds@2ndpres.org. Please email instead of text - the quality is better. Then on Sunday morning we will do a Palm Sunday hymn and play the video of everyone waving their palms. Those of you that pick up palms, keep them for Sunday and wave them at this time. Those of you who can't make it to the church to pick them up, just wave your "palms" (your hands) on Sunday morning at the same time. Sound fun?

Finally - I know it's difficult for all of us staying home. Yesterday, the President asked us all to continue doing so a little longer. Medical professionals have said it will be difficult because if we do everything right, we really won't be able to see that it's working for a while. So it takes fortitude and determination. Hang in there.

While we may not see the results regarding COVID-19 right away, there are other results that are easy to see. Families and loved ones playing games together, going for walks together, getting outside together, spending time together, making art together - reconnecting. A retired teacher and chaplain who lives in Madison, WI, with her husband and five rescue dogs noticed, as well. Her name is Kitty O'Meara and she wrote a poem about what she was seeing and feeling, and then she posted it on Facebook. Within days it was all over the internet. Many posts say she is an Irish poet, but that's not true. She's just a retired teacher from Wisconsin who spent some of her time writing down her thoughts. In case you haven't seen what she wrote, here it is. It's beautiful.

And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.

And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.

And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.

Grace and peace...

Pastor Tim