Dear Ones of St. Columba's,

Last week, in celebration of our patronal feast day, we had several special offerings as part of our livestream worship. This is usually true for St. Columba Day - at least the special offering part. It felt both joyful and deeply sad, to me, to be celebrating this year with videos. I miss the in-person sights, sounds, and smells of our usual St. C day festivities - African food and smoked meats that we feast on, the screams and shouts of children from the bouncy house and slip-n-slide, the visceral joy of dancing together with our South Sudanese brothers and sisters. 

Brother Moro, who is the song leader and a dear friend in our South Sudanese Community Church, recorded a song for us from his car this year instead. I think he even recorded it in the church parking lot, to be close to the space where both our communities worship. During his song, Moro talked about love, and how one day everything will be love. There will be no pain, Moro said, and Jesus will be right beside us.

I watched that video a few times, and not just because I'm the person who edits the videos. I realized again that the work we are doing here and now, the very hard work of staying connected, staying church, and taking care of each other, it is because we believe that God wants us all to be together in love. 

And, love in the here and now does not come without sacrifice and pain. We sacrifice being together in order to take care of each other in the midst of this pandemic. Those of us who are white are meeting a moment in time when we need to sacrifice something real of ourselves in order to understand the history behind racism and systemic violence toward Black, Indigenous and People of Color in our nation and find meaningful ways to join the fight against systems that harm our siblings. This will be uncomfortable and painful - but this is also how we take care of each other. 

St. Columba's is a community of faith that has and is reaching beyond barriers of class and race to realize God's vision of Love. And this moment - this moment of the dual pandemics of racism and Covid-19, this moment of economic peril and deep uncertainty - friends, this is also the moment to keep taking care of each other, even when that means making sacrifices. 

I believe that we will see each other again in person, some of us very soon and others after a longer time. Even then, there will be sacrifices (think face masks, and 6ft of distance). But I also remember what Brother Moro said in encouragement to us last Sunday - now is the time to practice love. 

We take care of each other. This pursuit of the practice of love includes all our neighbors, and like any practice it will stretch us, and frustrate us, and confuse us even as we grow. I believe we have what it takes to grow together, to continue even now to welcome anyone who needs care, hope, community, or friendship into our midst, and to continue the joyful and difficult work of staying connected, staying church, and taking care of each other.

Stay tuned for more info next week on in-person, outdoor worship in July.

I am so grateful to be your Vicar, doing this work and growing alongside you.

with care and gratitude,

Alissa