Dear Hope Family, Since so any of my friends are either clergy or active in their local religious communities, it didn't take long for the meme to show up in my social media feed: "This is the Lentiest Lent I have ever Lented." Amen to that. Who knew giving up the world was an option? But it is Lent, and while I am leaning into comfort and courage in my messages to the church and community, the seasons of church life have served us well for over a millennia, through the Black Death and World Wars. While I'd like to save something for my preaching, I will say this: I find the Holy Week and Easter messages completely appropriate to our situation. Take last Sunday, when the lectionary text of Ezekiel's "valley of dry bones" had been selected long before we had an inkling of what was coming. Yet, the message was perfect. Even when things look hopeless, lifeless, God has the power to fill us with spirit, with life, to see a revitalization, a "back to lie," for the ancient Hebrew people in Babylon, and for our own community, both here in Door County and out there in our diaspora. The image of bones may have seemed stark, but if you read the scripture or listened to the sermon, they made perfect sense. I selected that image, and am always responsible for images used in worship. This crisis has forced us out of long-established routines. I continue to work with our lay leaders and staff, who bring to the table love, creativity, and a goodly dose of practical knowledge. We can't say thank you enough. I continue to do livestreams on the Hope Church Sturgeon Bay Facebook page most days, and Beth has been posting them on our webpage, hopechurchdc.org (http://hopechurchdc.org/) . You'll see below a note about new social times, and many of you have already gotten calls from members of the Care Team. If you haven't tuned in for Moi's Friday Night "Children's Time," you can see it live on Facebook at 6:00pm, or catch it at a later date on our webpage. This Sunday is Palm Sunday, and next week is Holy Week, with special services on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday at 6:00pm. We hope you'll join us. If you would like to celebrate communion this Sunday and Maundy Thursday, be sure to pick up some wine or grape juice and some bread to break next time you run to the store. It appears that some folks have nothing better to do while stuck at home than to hack into Zoom meetings, especially classes and worship services, and disrupt, often with racist and homophobic attacks. It happened to a colleague's worship service on Sunday. As you receive invites to various Zoom meetings and programs from the church, we ask that you not publish them on public websites and pages. We have quite a few members of our church family who are "essential workers" unable to work from home. Please hold them in special prayer. Blessings, Gary The Rev. J. Gary Brinn Pastor and Teacher Hope United Church of Christ Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin pastor@hopechurchdc.org (mailto:pastor@hopechurchdc.org) Pronouns: he/him/his
