Dear Sisters and Brothers at Christ Church,
On Sunday we'll gather for Christ Church's 152nd annual meeting. Every generation of Christ Church has added a chapter to the long story of our community. Here in the third decade of the 21st century, we're adding our own. Each of the chapters of the story of Christ Church is different because the challenges facing every generation are different: World wars, the influenza of 1919, the Great Depression, the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, disco, September 11, and now Covid, among so many other things. One common theme in these chapters is the idea that our church is a collection of individuals who try to work together as one body. We all have different talents and needs and we share those with each other to create a body that is greater than the sum of its parts. This has been especially true in the last couple of years as we've navigated Covid 19. We've looked to each other for emotional support and prayers, meals, electronic community, and book discussions. We've worked together to feed hungry people, offer showers, create a homeless shelter and to try to make sense of public health, race, politics and anxiety. Working with a bunch of different people is hard. We have different temperaments, emotional needs and pet peeves. But sometimes, when we're patient with each other and when we listen to each other, when we make room for the Holy Spirit to cast her magic, it works.
"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ." -1 Corinthians 12:12
As we turn towards 2022, and hopefully as the omicron variant recedes, let's continue working together to love our neighbors. Let's listen to each other, offer one another patience and grace, and try to follow Jesus' example. May God continue to bless Christ Church, and may we share God's blessing with the world around us.