REMEMBER: MAY 30 WE RETURN TO ONE WORSHIP SERVICE AT 9 AM.
Dear friends,
My thoughts this morning are on the upcoming Memorial weekend. I now reflect on Memorial Days past, present and future.
I did a quick internet search on American combat deaths since the Revolutionary War. The count was just under 700,000 deaths in combat sustained in 10 wars. If you count deaths in the military outside of direct combat and the deaths of those who died later from injuries caused by the war and those who were so shattered by their experience of war they committed suicide, the number of dead would rise dramatically.
On Memorial Day, we remember family members, beloved friends and all who have died in war defending our nation from the very beginning. The one I always think about is my neighbor and school mate, Bruce, who died in Vietnam. Who comes to your mind and heart?
On this day to remember those who served in the Armed Forces, I also like to remember those who served our country in other important ways. For example, the farm family who raised food for our nation and those who marched in foreign countries. Or the women who joined the work force, perhaps for the first time to build planes, ships and tanks. I think of the mothers and children who watched men in uniform get out of a car and walk the sidewalk to their front door with an envelope in their hands and they knew the news would not be good.
Closer to home, I think of Pastor Jerry Ebbinga, the previous interim at Bethlehem, who received the news that his brother was killed in Vietnam. I remember seeing the pain in Pastor Jerry’s face when he told me this story decades after his brother’s death.
My prayer is for all of you as you remember the sacrifices that your family has made during your lifetime. May the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, bring comfort and peace to you.
Then my thoughts shifted to the present moment. This will be our second Memorial Day since the pandemic struck our nation (and all nations) last March. Who would have thought last year at this time that almost 600,000 Americans would die from Covid-19 and 3.5 million more throughout the world. Sadly, the pandemic is not over, either here or elsewhere in the world.
Covid deaths became real for me this past January with the death of a pastor friend, a member from a former congregation and here at Bethlehem, our beloved friend Andrea Lepird. Although these nearly 600,000 did not die from an enemy that shot guns or dropped bombs, this tiny virus is very much an enemy attacking all of us, showing no partiality to race, wealth, sex, age, or creed.
My prayer is for all of us as we remember the sacrifices of so many. Yes, the nearly 600,000 but also all whose lives were threated, but not taken, who suffer even now long term effects of this disease. My prayers also go out to all of those women and men who fought this enemy on the front lines, the doctors, nurses, staff, EMT’s, police, fireman and others. I reflect on the non-health costs to the human community: lost jobs, isolation, fear, and disruption of our normal life.
Finally I began to contemplate the future. I am not naive: wars will continue to be fought, new (and old) diseases will challenge our lives, and economic challenges will always be present. Personally I believe climate change will be our next and perhaps ultimate challenge as a human race. What future concern is pressing on your conscientiousness these days?
My prayer is for all of us as we ponder our future, the future that our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will experience. How often do we reflect on the impact our everyday actions will have on our descendants living 100 years from now?
Memorial Day. What will it mean for you? I would urge you to take some time and reflect on the sacrifices of those who have gone before us and then reflect on what we may have to offer our generations to come.
Peace,
Pastor John
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Additional announcements:
The council, on May 16, after much discussion, decided to make the following changes.
1) From Memorial Day through Labor Day, Bethlehem will return to one service at 9 am. Our first Sunday with one service will be May 30.
2) The wearing of a mask during worship for those who are vaccinated will no longer be mandated, but is still recommended.
3) The wearing of a mask is required for those who are not vaccinated for their safety.
4) No one will be asked if they are vaccinated.
5) If you are not feeling well, running a fever, coughing, etc., we ask that you not worship on that day but instead worship with us on our Vimeo recorded service.
6) We will continue to enter through the Fellowship Hall. There will be no temperature checks. We do ask everyone to sign in and use sanitizer on their hands. This record is necessary if there is a need to do contact tracing.
7) There will no longer be a need to register prior to the service.
8) The sanctuary will be set up for 70 chairs. This should be sufficient seating for all Sundays during the summer period.
9) Holy Communion will continue as currently practiced.
After Labor Day, the council will review all Covid-19 protocols.