Rev. Craig Goodrich

One of the unanticipated blessings of this challenging time has been Zoom technology. For the last ten months all church meetings, committees, small groups etc., have been meeting by Zoom. And many of you are zooming with your families and friends. Recently, I zoomed with some of my law school classmates from over 40 years ago. While it was a joy, it also brought to mind this quote from Pat Conroy’s memoir My Losing Season: “I mourn for the quicksilvery racehorse passage of time. Its swiftness has caught me with the same ineffable start that comes to every man and woman who lives long enough. It remains the single greatest surprise of my life.” This time of pandemic, days can seem so long, and yet time is passing so quickly. How could it be 2021 already? How did we get here? And maybe more importantly, while we may mourn the passage of time, the question for us is how we will live this gift of time that we have been given - in this very day, which is the only one we have? Certainly, this is a season like no other. What is God calling us to, individually and together in this new year? Looking back, 2020 was an unusual year in many ways. Yet, there are blessings. On a very positive note, because of your generosity, it was a strong year financially, with income exceeding expenses and significant contributions to the Coronavirus Emergency Relief Fund. For a full report see page 3.

Your committed staff has been working onsite since June and we have been worshipping in person since September. Our first priority has been safety, and whereas in a “normal” year we would have 600 plus in two worship services, this year our weekly attendance is somewhere between 75 to 90 people in one service. Many more are worshipping online. In this issue of the Outreachyou will see a Session update, indicating all meetings, other than worship, will be by Zoom through at least March. We have begun our Generosity Campaign “Give Thanks, Hold Fast, Rejoice!” We hope you will make a pledge. The Preschool is going strong with in person classes. Our children and youth activities remain online. And in this issue, we begin a new feature, “Staff Spotlight,” leading off with a portrait of Sharman Pfaus, our Executive Office Manager (see page 10). We want you to know your wonderful staff.

Ash Wednesday this year is on February 17. We will prerecord a service and send it to you. During Lent, Dr. Brice Gerlach will once again provide wonderful organ concerts, this time online. We will hold a “Seekers and Joiners” class by Zoom on Saturday, February 20. Look for fellowship opportunities set forth on pages 8 and 9, and a Wednesday evening presentation on the environment by Dr. Terri Jump. Looking ahead, there is reason for hope. Vaccines are being distributed and we pray, “Dear Lord, help with the logistics.” When will things return to “normal?” We don’t know. But we do know that we have been given the gift of this day, the gift of life and the gift of God’s grace in Jesus Christ and that nothing can separate us from the love of God. And that is something for which we can all be thankful. Faithfully and Gratefully,

From the Pulpit

February 7 Rev. Craig Goodrich “Hold Fast!” February 14 Rev. Craig Goodrich “Rejoice Always!” February 21 Rev. Rex Childs

February 28 Rev. Craig Goodrich