Greetings Sisters and Brothers In Christ,
“Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
According to the book of Acts, these were Jesus’ last words to the disciples. He spoke and then ascended. He did not give the answer they wanted. They probably watched the bottoms of Jesus’ feet as he ascended, then gawped at the sky until they were blinking away tears.
“Now what?” they asked each other as they shuffled down the road back to Jerusalem. “Did you understand him?” one asked. “No, did you?”
It’s clear that none of them got it, because they went straight back to the room they had occupied since the crucifixion; the room where they felt safe in each other’s company; the room where they went over everything that had happened in their three years of discipleship; the room with the door they kept closed.
Sisters and Brothers in Christ, we are living in the liminal time between the Ascension and Pentecost. We are experiencing a catastrophic event through this pandemic, and what we want more than anything is a return to NORMAL. However, under such circumstances, NORMAL has leap-frogged into the future, and what NORMAL will look like out there is not much like the NORMAL that is now behind us.
We want to get back into our sanctuaries and see the people we cherish and listen to the music and sing the hymns and celebrate the sacraments. We want church to stay the way it’s always been for us.
“Lord, are you at this time going to open the churches?”
Here are two pieces of information that you must hold in tension as you ask this question:
Only the session of your church can decide when to open or close. Not the Moderator of Presbytery. Not the Vice-Moderator. Not the Stated Clerk or the Transitional Presbytery Pastor. The session makes that decision, and the pastor of the church is a member of the session and has a vote.
It is our recommendation that each of our congregations within Denver Presbytery continue offering online worship as it is not yet safe to return to our sanctuaries. To date, 1,630,900 AMERICANS have been infected with Covid-19. 97,059 have died. we are six months to a year away from having a vaccine. Social distancing and wearing masks have helped to slow the spread of the virus, yet 1000 new cases appear every day in America. Despite our impatience, it is not yet safe to return to our sanctuaries.
Friends, now is not the time to get in a hurry. Now is not the time to risk the lives of our most vulnerable church members, friends, family members, musicians, choir members, custodians and pastors by returning to the building. The session of each church must consider the risks, pray for God’s wisdom, and make the decision that best suits their congregation. And it’s worth repeating: they must consider the risks.
We are praying for you constantly, and seeking God’s will for the Presbytery and every member of every church. Until we can all be truly safe together, we urge you to SLOW DOWN, participate with your congregation virtually and continue to WORSHIP GOD IN YOUR HOME.
Always hopeful,
Rev. Dana Hughes
Transitional Presbytery Pastor
Rev. Justin Spurlock
Moderator of Denver Presbytery