—Hebrews 12:7a

A saying that has stayed with me since I was starting out in ministry many years ago is, “Let’s throw it on the wall, and see if it sticks.” I blush when I think about how many harebrained schemes we cooked up, all tucked snugly under that simple metaphor. Rethinking a ministry, or doing worship in a different way, doesn’t have much to do with whether boiled spaghetti will stick to a wall.

Still, there was a truth hidden in that saying. We needed to try things. We needed to plan in one direction, see if things were working, make changes, or let things simmer a little while longer. The needs varied. The one constant that remains, however, is that there must be an experimental component to life, especially when planning things in ministry. Some things work, others don’t. Conditions change. Sometimes the recipe isn’t right, and we need to reset the timer.

We’re all feeling our way through COVID-19, trying to return to normal, resetting in light of the variants, and the list goes on. We’ve made plans in one direction, but conditions have changed. One of the plans we made was to return to our Wednesday night programming this week, on August 18. We even had the menu planned (thanks, Sarah!).

However, conditions changed, and now we need to push the date back until at least September 8. Here’s why. Three staff members, including myself, were exposed to someone with COVID. As I write this, I’m in hour 48 of my quarantine, waiting for hour 72 to roll on by so I can get a rapid test. The same is true for other staff. We faced a choice of going ahead with Wednesday night programming without staff present (in case of a positive result), or canceling our plans for this Wednesday. We took into consideration that COVID-19 cases in our region are skyrocketing, and even if we averted disaster this Wednesday, we’d likely face another dilemma the following week and the weeks after that. Add to this the indications from folks that they would likely pull out for a few weeks until the surge abates, and the decision to postpone until at least September 8 seemed reasonable.

The pasta wasn’t done, the spaghetti didn’t stick, and things needed a little more time.

So, forgive us. Be patient. We’re all doing our best. Many of us have desperately missed the opportunity to gather, fellowship, and share table on Wednesday nights. We can’t wait to get back to normal. But the time isn’t right. Yet.

I close with the admonition from the writer of Hebrews, the first half of verse 7 in chapter 12. Our call is to endure, and in the running, in the patient waiting, in the time between, we are conformed ever so slowly to the Lord Jesus who endured all things for our sake.

We’ll get there, just not today. We will get there. The Lord has promised, the Lord has a plan, and the Lord is always faithful.

In Christ,

Pastor Sam

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