Reflections from among us:
From Peggy Buckner, a letter:
Dear Friends,
The 50 day season of Easter-tide will soon come to an end. In a few weeks we will celebrate the day of
Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit, the birthday of the church. As Easter people, we are the body
of Christ in the world. In the days when I taught children's choir at our church we sang:
"The church is not a building; the church is not a steeple;
The church is not a resting place; the church is a people.
I am the church; you are the church; we are the church together.
All who follow Jesus all around the world, Yes! we're the church together."
The Covid-19 virus has caused a crushing load of uncertainty about many things. We find ourselves
experiencing church in a new way.
With sickness, death, economic collapse and isolation, we echo the lament cried out many times in the Psalms, "How long, O Lord?" This
time of crisis should not and cannot
be lived alone.
We need each other. We need the body of Christ especially when we cannot see each other and break bread
together.
Though we journey apart, in spirit we are united. Our calling, indeed our challenge, is to be the church in these
strangest of times. I have found that in times of spinning anxiety, Jesus shows up. So it was with two of his
disciples, disheartened, reeling from the crucifixion, they headed out of
town toward Emmaus. They were joined by a stranger who seemed to know nothing about recent events in Jerusalem. Walking with them, explaining scripture to them, he lit a spark that caused them to say, "Stay with us." During the breaking of bread at supper, they recognized their Lord.
Our present journey is a difficult one but Jesus shows up. He walks beside us, as our companion to comfort, to calm us and even to weep with us.
We must show up to be Christ to each other in any way we can. Your many acts of kindness, meals delivered, phone calls, texts, cards sent and notes written are all evidence that
you are the hands and feet of Christ. You are the church!
The Covid-19 virus is still causing havoc and not going away as fast as we would like. Dr. Luke Powery, Dean of the Chapel at Duke University
said it causes him to say with
Jeremiah 8:18, "My joy is gone,
grief is upon me, my heart is sick."
He goes on to say "I'm grateful we are not alone. God is with us as we walk this uncertain road. But something
new is being born in us, through us, and around us even as we wait for what is to come. May we have the
faith to see it and the courage to embrace it."
Even though I have remained in the high country for most of the past nine years, following the deaths of my husband, my mother, and a dear
friend, my heart is always with this church. This is the community of faith where I worked among you for 26 years and worship with you even now.
I love this church and its people. You are my church. I don't know what the future holds for any of us these days but I do know who holds the future.
In the words of one of my favorite
choir anthems: "Stay with us, Lord Jesus stay with us."
Grace and peace,
Peggy
