Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.   

It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,

it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

           1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

 

            Waiting is never easy. And it's been over two full months now. Our lives have been on hold. We've had to mostly stay in the house. Schools have been closed. Some have been out of work. Zoom meetings have become the norm. And as much as we at St. John's have always wanted to work toward offering some type of online worship, little did we know that we would be forced to figure it out. And even though the Yellow Phase is coming (finally!) later this week, we know that this isn't the end of the precautions (even the Green Phase won't be the end of it!) and we still have to be patient and keep on safeguarding ourselves and our fellow community members as well as our church family.

 

            The good news is that the St. John's family has been remarkably blessed. Yes, we've had a few people who have tested positive, one who was ill enough to require hospitalization, and a few of you have asked for prayer for relatives or acquaintances who've been ill. One of you lost a loved one to the disease. And our prayers continue to go out to those who are grieving and those who may still become infected. But on the whole, we've thus far weathered the storm fairly well, and we give God thanks.

 

            When will we be re-opening for in-person worship? Our leadership team is still looking at re-opening during the Green Phase. And they are at work right now to ensure that we are ready when the time comes.

 

            Many of the things in life that result in blessings require us to have patience. It takes many years of study to get that degree (congratulations to our graduates, by the way!). Any cancer survivor will tell you about the long, hard months of unpleasant treatments prior to receiving the good news that the disease is in remission. Those of us who have a real disdain for ice, cold weather and short days are finally rejoicing that we had patience enough to make it through another l-o-n-g winter.

 

            Thank you for being God's hands and feet over these last several months. You've been a blessing to many people. Without your commitment to "staying home and staying safe," many more of God's precious children would have suffered, and many more would have died. I pray that all of us will continue to be share the love of God with our neighbors as we slowly begin to get back to our normal way of life. Let's all commit ourselves to wear a mask when around others, practice social distancing, wash/sanitize our hands ... you know the ropes. Oh - and don't forget to pray without ceasing!

 

   Pastor Janice