Letter from Lindy Jan 9

Happy Epiphany my beloved Pilgrims,

One pattern I have discovered adhering to when I am in Orlando, especially now with both Thompson and Jake back in full-time employ, is scrolling through my 8,000 unread emails and work to delete those that are OBE (government parlance), so that I trick myself in believing I have some semblance of control over my inbox. This process is slow going because I tend to click on headlines that remain intriguing and find myself readily falling through the looking glass with Alice.

Today’s read/s naturally populated around the anniversary marker of last year’s marauding insurrection on our Nation’s Capitol. Holding these two unlikely date-sharers had me pondering the shadow side of our biblical story with UCC pastor/theologian Tony Robinson and the eerie parallel of phony kings lying about their intentions. How could we ever question whether God is still speaking?! I am grateful to be tethered to a community who listens well.

Our community continues to make adjustments as Omicron continues to impact Durham with its ever increasing infection rate. We continue to be vigilant as we worship in person, ramping up our safety protocols for all. As winter weather draws us indoors, let us be intentional about not gathering in groups throughout the campus–hallways, classrooms, and especially in the confined space of the narthex. If you arrive early for worship and outside is too chilly, please quietly find your way into the sanctuary and listen to the choir practice, safely masked and distanced from your neighbors.

We still want to host fellowship opportunities and believe following OMICRON protocols is the safest route. With that, in the belief that by the end of service our temperatures regularly climb into the 50’s, we will continue to host fellowship outdoors. If the forecast looks like it will not cooperate, we will cancel the food, so our hosts do not suffer unduly, but you are free to mingle and talk, of course.

Nick has adapted our choir into smaller singing pods and reduced their collective gathering time to keep our choir members equally protected. Give their glorious sound, wherever two or three are gathered, we will have beautiful music.

My hope is that our journey with OMICRON will also be short-lived and we can continue to expand our in person presence. Until that happens, though, we will do as we have done and make decision that reflect our ethos of “whoever you are, wherever you are, you are welcome here.”

Pastor Lindy (she/her)whypronouns matter

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