Cold Start

From Fr. Clements:

It has been several months since we have operated normally on Sunday mornings, that's not exactly a news flash, and we have let go of some important ministries that we need to re-start as we claw our way back towards recognizable worship.  So, we will be re-engaging our broad participation in parish ministry.

[Yes, national church leaders, I know we are "doing church in a whole new way" from now on, but it still includes some traditional elements as well.  Not all of us are spiritually fulfilled playing "Brady Bunch" on Zoom and I have yet to see or hear anything edifying presented through an official video.]

One of those ministries is that of the counters, which began again at the beginning of the month.  The next will be that of the lay or altar ministers.  While the role is not yet what it once was, that is a noble form of service and we need to celebrate it through participation.  We will once again need a greeter, if just on days of inclement weather so that, when the church has reached full occupancy, we can direct worshipers to the remote viewing room in the parish hall.

We also want to thank the members of the Order of St. Ambrose [our lay preachers] for maintaining their schedule of preaching during The Great Quarantine and continuing to present engaging, interesting, and faithful sermons each month.

First Thursdays, or at least a video version, should return in September.  I hasten to add that, while it will retain its name, I may not be able to master video technology by the first Thursday of the month, but we'll have something to present sometime before the first day of autumn.

As we have no indication as to what decisions are to be made for us from the ECCT about the coming Advent/Christmas season, the vestry and I are already designing ways in which we may participate in the holy seasons to come that are based on choice and individual notions of safety.  Acknowledging that the historic church is an institution that inspires and promotes freedom rather than one that subjugates its members to a surrogate parenthood, we will provide options that will enable us to choose our form of participation.

I will have more to say about this in the weeks to come.  Until then, thank you for keeping the faith and keeping Christ Church an active place of ministry.