Our world and our lives have been turned upside down in a matter of months by a virus that has taken not only a physical toll on those affected, but a mental and often spiritual toll on us all. We miss many things about our lives and the way things were in the pre-covid days. Our physical

Church building, our liturgies, and the sacraments, particularly the most blessed sacrament of the altar, are some of the many things we miss along with singing, praying together, coffee hour and hugs. We acknowledge that sense of loss and the mourning of those things that we miss.

At Grace Church we have decided under advisement of the reshepherding committee, and a prayerful discernment by the vestry that we will not be returning to our physical church and our traditions therein until 2021. This is not a decision that is taken lightly.

We believe that ultimately as our Lord instructed us, we are to Love One Another. During this pandemic we love each other by wearing masks, keeping our physical distance, and staying out of our precious space a little bit longer. We are in this together. We choose to wait until all of us can be together safely again and not some of us, so that we prevent  putting anyone at risk. This is what love does.

While we are sad though, we are also excited. For as the prophet Isaiah tells us:

God is doing so many new things at Grace Episcopal Church and in our lives. For this we are so grateful and inspired. Our worship continues to enrich us in countless ways. We have weekly "evangelism epistles" from our young adults and reflections shared at Celtic Evensong. We had a wonderful Pentecost retreat. We have more opportunities than ever (nearly every day of the week) to pray together and more people joining us virtually from around the world than ever before.

Our school partnership is already off to a fantastic start with a book club launching in August. We continue to stand up for justice in a variety of ways in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The church building might be closed but God through the Holy Spirit continues to inspire us to be faithful followers of the Way of Love in Jesus Christ. Prayerfully and full of Love we boldly proclaim the good news to a world in desperate need of it. We are thankful to be on this journey together and we are excited to see where it will lead us. Join us in prayer and thanksgiving and in hopeful anticipation of what is yet to come.

Charles Albert Tindley is the composer of the hymn, "Stand By Me." He was born in Berlin, Maryland, July 7, 1851; son of Charles and Hester Tindley. His father was a slave, and his mother was free. 

Tindley was largely self-taught throughout his lifetime. He became pastor at East Bainbridge in 1902. Under his leadership,  the membership roll blossomed to about ten thousand.

Tindley was known for being a captivating preacher, and for also taking an active role in the betterment of the people in his community. His songs were an outgrowth of his preaching ministry, often introduced during his sermons. Tindley was able to draw people of multiple races to his church ministry; likewise, his songs have been adopted and proliferated by white and black churches alike. His song, "I'll overcome someday," is the basis for the hymn, "We Shal Overcome."