Some Planning Ahead for 2021

November 12, 2020

Hi, Friends,

This week I’m writing the church letter before This is Us airs, so you won’t have to, or get to, read me quoting it. 😉

I want to first catch the attention of anyone who is newer at Reservoir, and then share an update about how our church is thinking about this season of fewer in-person gatherings. 

If you are new to Reservoir in 2019 or 2020, or perhaps still feeling new regardless of your first Sunday with us, join us immediately after Virch this Sunday, November 15th at 11:00am for our New to Reservoir gathering! We’ll meet on Zoom; get the meeting link by emailing info@reservoirchurch.org and joining our church newsletter. Two or our pastors (Ivy and me), as well as one of our Board members and one of our community group leaders, will share our stories of how we came to this church and what we love about it. I’ll also share a bit more about what membership looks like here. And then I’ll stick around as long as you like for questions about anything to do with Reservoir. (If you’re a member who’s been around for a while, this isn’t for you! We’re finally working on scheduling our next members meeting online – perhaps I’ll have a date for you next week on that.)

And now on the COVID-19 front: Perhaps you’ve noticed that cases are going up throughout the country, including in New England. Needless to say, this is heartbreaking for many reasons, one of which is how this impacts church life. We long to be able to gather together in person for Sunday worship, for our community groups, for meals and kids’ gatherings, and all the other many ways we love to be together. But we can’t yet, not in person. I’m trying to think of this as a small taste of the Bible’s accounts of exile. Frankly, having your homeland destroyed and settling as a persecuted minority in a foreign land is far worse than this pandemic. But in both cases, there is freedom to lament our losses and also an invitation to stay close to God and one another: physically distant but spiritually together.  And in both cases, the community is encouraged to wonder: what new investments can we make in ourselves, our faith, and our community life? What new discoveries can we find during this time? In what ways can we move toward greater flourishing?

Our Board has extended our timeline for in person worship to no sooner than April, 2021. We do not perceive a safe and appropriate way to gather for Sunday worship in our sanctuary this winter. Instead, we will be using that time to prepare ourselves for the time in 2021 when we will be able to resume worship in person. While I don’t know when that date will be, I know that we will need to make some investments in air circulation and other changes. Board member Dr. Peter Choo and our Director of Operations and Communications Trecia Reavis will be examining our needs and options for preparing our sanctuary for in person worship. Additionally, Peter and Trecia are examining whether or not we will be able to make our sanctuary available for community groups’ indoor use this winter. We will keep you posted, as we do our research. 

Peace, Love, Courage be yours today,

Steve