Letter from Lindy

Hello Pilgrims,

Thank you, thank you… all who helped bring a beautiful, poignant All Saints/Souls Day service into being--especially all of our readers. Our collective storytelling (both biblical and personal) was so rich and deep. My heart was full. As conscientious as I try to be about time, I blew that out of the water Sunday with our service spilling over two hours. For those who stayed, for those who had to leave, I completely miscalculated the allotted time. I had anticipated about 90 minutes and when we hit that mark, I started getting antsy. And then I got God-smacked into truly listening to the words being spoken about each person we honored. How much they gave to this church. How much they gave to God. And I chastised myself for fidgeting about going long. If this collective group didn’t deserve our time and attention, who did? Probably, only Bill Dickerson would have been harrumphing (out loud, at least :) Kate Bartlett had a chuckle that we didn’t even begin sharing his story until after 12 noon. Imagine what he would have said about that! That being said, I recognize that we juggle so many competing demands and plan accordingly. And our length of service may have unintentionally upended carefully crafted calendars. I ask for grace in my wobbly time editing.

It was a beautiful way to close the month of October and as Felix shares below, even more so with our Trunk ‘n Treat festivities. Love was certainly in the air all around. Equally delightful was the number of children beckoned to our campus by the lure of sweet treats. Whether they came in for the children’s moment or just played with parents and friends outside, I think we are onto something about creating multiple platforms for Pilgrims to reconnect in community. If we’ve learned anything during pandemic, it is to be fluid, flexible and adaptable to all that is before us and lead with community and connection. I believe this creates a beautiful recipe for covenant.

Pilgrims, we have much before us as we enter November. Advent and Christmas plans are well underway--and again we are choosing to be flexible and adaptable with our sacred traditions in light of the lingering of COVID. I have mentioned in these pages previously, but please note that with two significant holidays before us (Thanksgiving and Christmas), we will be adapting our worship practices to be safe, knowing many people will be traveling for the first holiday in over a year. Please mark your calendars that 11/28, the first Sunday of Advent will be a pre-recorded service with no in-person worship to help create healthy, safe boundaries after Thanksgiving travel. We will do the same again on 12/26 for Christmas travel. The two recorded services will be wonderful, we just invite you to plan for them in the comfort of your own home.

Along with the sacredness of the Christian calendar, November also brings forth our budget and stewardship seasons and we have much to share, ponder and discuss as we continue to take steps out of pandemic isolation. Stay tuned for the chairs of these teams to invite you into a Pilgrim-wide conversation about our future. Our stewardship chair, Grayson Hansard, offered the phrase realistic optimism to undergird our discernment and I deeply appreciate holding these words in tandem as we chart our course.

Finally, your pastor asks a favor of you this Sunday. One of my wonderful teaching parishes (Christian Church of Arlington Heights) during seminary experienced a fire last December and restoration has been painful and long-coming, amidst a pandemic season of profound grief. They are learning now that they will not be back in their sanctuary for Christmas 2021, which was their anticipated goal. Needless to say, they are downtrodden. Their wonderful pastor has reached out to those who have been nurtured by this beautiful congregation to ask if we might send words and pictures of encouragement that she will bind together in a lovebook to help sustain them through. On Sunday, will you help me take a picture of Pilgrims in our sanctuary holding them in our embrace? Like we did for Ixcell so many moons ago. I will write words to accompany our photo.

I thank you in advance for your participation.

grace and love,
Pastor Lindy (she/her) why pronouns matter

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