September 2020

 

Dear Members and Friends,

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As I am sure we all do, Pat (my wife) and I greatly miss the warmth and fellowship of

being together in-person for Sunday worship during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

We miss our gathering for study and faith-sharing, planning, and hands-on projects for

fellowship and mission outreach. Great will be our joy when we can safely return to

celebrate what the late German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, simply called Life

Together in a book by that name. His words mean all the more, knowing that many of his

insights about the value and importance of Christian “life together” were born out of

times of trouble and painful separation.

For those with computers and technical know-how, the word Zoom has become a new

and now familiar word in our vocabulary. Since last mid-March, area congregations suspended in-person worship to protect folks from the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Nevertheless, the important work of the church has continued with boards and committees having regular Zoom meetings online. Sunday Worship at Woodmont UCC has continued uninterrupted online, together with a virtual coffee hour for the enjoyment of seeing and chatting with others. I hope that you are joining us for worship online each week. Even as I write this article, our church leaders are looking at all of the safety protocols needed for eventually resuming in-person Sunday worship, carefully keeping in mind your very helpful replies and guidance from a July survey you received. Thank you for your responses to the survey.

 

I lift up the word together. It is worth a volume of words all by itself. Where have we heard it lately? I heard it online in music at our United Church of Christ National Youth Event: The title was: “TOGETHER, WE’RE STRONG.” ... I heard it at a public prayer vigil on the Milford Green as many of us lay on the grass for 8 minutes 49 seconds on the day of George Floyd’s memorial service in Minneapolis, another among many tragic injustices and losses of life due to race and prejudice. As I lifted myself off the ground, I heard all around me the words: “TOGETHER, WE SHALL OVERCOME.” You and I have heard it in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic: “WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.”Y ou and I have heard it related to global warming and care of the earth, the very environment that supports life globally.“WE ARE ALL IN THAT TOGETHER, ALSO.”

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Just as Bonhoeffer recognized, Life Together is so important. The life and teachings of Jesus have so much to do with god's will for our life together. THANK YOU FOR BEING A VITAL PART OF WOODMONT UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST. The faithful witness of our congregation is SO IMPORTANT in Milford and the wider world. May God bless us all as we learn what it means to live into that word together, & to celebrate a vision of inclusiveness, extravagant welcome, and affirmation of who people are. May God bless us in the pursuit of a vision of people together in God’s beautiful diversity, peaceful, forgiving, affirming, and unconditionally loving. 

 

I can’t wait until we can, once again, celebrate our faith in-person and at worship. Meanwhile, be safe and be well.

 

In shared faith and friendship,

Kim C. (& Pat says “hi”)