Dear Church Family,
Wow 2022! It’s hard to believe, isn’t it? And what an interesting couple of years it has been. I picked the scripture above with intention. I believe it has some points that we need to visit and remember.
The very first sentence holds great importance and could be a message all on its own, “hold tightly to hope.” That has been very difficult to do over the last couple of years, because so many of us have spent so much time in isolation. Oftentimes unable to be with friends or family or gather in the ways that we used to, is “a new normal for us.” So “holding onto our hope and trusting the one who we know is faithful in all circumstances” should be a goal for all of us. We know we will make it through this, and we know that God is on this with us.
You’ll notice too where it says “some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that.” I’m not sure why they weren’t getting together for worship, (they may have just enjoyed being home in their PJ’S on Sunday morning and “gotten out of the habit”) but I know what our apprehension is. We’re afraid to gather. Being careful and being aware are good things. The thing of it is, we as a body have proven that we can gather safely. We are intentional about protecting one another. We have also learned to trust one another, knowing that if one of us is sick we stay home to protect the other. This creates a safe environment to come together and worship. And you must admit it feels good to be together and it feels great to worship!
Worship is important to each one of us. Not only does it give us an opportunity to show our love for God, it also gives God a chance to rain down His love on us in a way we may not be able to experience alone at home.
The second piece of it is we need each other for encouragement. We encourage each other to keep going, we encourage each other when we are struggling, we encourage each other when we are sick, and we always encourage each other to do good works. If you remember, before the pandemic our time of greeting in the middle of service oftentimes took eight or 10 minutes. We allowed for that time because we knew how important that time of encouragement and checking in was. It was a part of our worship, and God intended for us to worship together that’s why he has drawn us together in love.
Scripture is encouraging us to gather, to come together to worship and to spur one another on, to encourage one another in our everyday. God created us to be together. Even introverts need the love and encouragement of other human beings. We weren’t created for isolation.
Social isolation has some devastating effects. When deprived of normal human interaction, studies show that individuals experience and increase in anxiety, panic, insomnia, depression and more. I would say that some of us are in that space right now. But we can change that without causing harm.
If you have “gotten out of the habit of worshipping together” on Sunday morning, I’d like to encourage you to come back. If you feel at all uncomfortable in the space, all you have to do is share your concern and we will do what we can to make the space comfortable for you. We have lots of room to socially distance, we are all wearing masks and we love each other enough to stay home when we ask sick.
If you are not comfortable coming to worship in person, then I encourage you to worship with us online. It’s important to stay in God’s Word. We also offer several small groups. We offer them through zoom and we are willing to offer small groups within large safe spaces. All you must do is share your need and we will do our best to provide you with an opportunity to gather.
Long-term loneliness isn’t good for anyone. I like to encourage each one of you to look through your directory each week and send a friend a card or give them a friendly call. It makes such a difference when we know others are thinking of us.
Each one of you is in my prayers and I will continue to do my best as your pastor to provide environments for us to gather and worship! We need each other and we need Jesus!
Love to you all,
Pastor Nettie
