Saturday, September 26, 2020

Dear St. Markers,

Last Tuesday evening when the Liturgy and Formation ministry was meeting online, we reviewed plans for re-opening for in-person worship on Sunday, October 4. Earlier that day, Mayor Kirk Caldwell had unveiled the city’s latest plan to open up Honolulu safely. Several of us at the meeting had studied the tiers of the new plan, and we were cautiously optimistic about the conservative approach being taken. As our bishop has given permission for Oahu churches to resume in-person worship, and as the new city plan allows for churches to gather with reduced capacity, the decision was made to begin in-person worship in October.

And then on Wednesday the state reported 168 new COVID-19 cases. My heart sank. Just the day prior it was only a third of that number. Were we making a mistake by planning to resume in-person worship on October 4? This is one example of what has made this season of COVID so difficult. Every decision gets second-guessed. Unless there is a large spike in cases this coming week, St. Mark’s will resume in-person worship on Sunday, October 4, observing our safety protocols. Registration through our website will be required, and further details will be forthcoming in next week’s Evangel.

I want to thank those who have made our online worship possible throughout August and September. Our weekly amateur effort has been well-received. Some have complimented the organ and service music, while others have appreciated seeing the church, even if it is online. One person even joked that they forget to pay attention to the sermon, because they are enjoying all the variations of the stained glass lighting on the front wall of the church! We have a skeleton crew when it comes to our Sunday service production, as the church cannot afford to hire personnel for such matters. We have a camera, a tripod, and a priest who presses “start.” The rest is the Holy Spirit in concert with the musicians and the acolytes.

Finally, I want to caution us that we not do too much planning. One of the gifts of this pandemic is that we have been forced to live our lives day by day. We are being trained to live in the moment. Our Lord tells us, “Do not worry about the morrow, for the morrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34). Amidst so much uncertainty, we are called to focus on the certainty of Christ and his ministry among us. We are called to let go of tomorrow’s anxiety while caring for each other today. Let’s enjoy loving one another in the present moment, and then let’s be glad to repeat this action when tomorrow comes.

Take care and stay safe,
Father Paul Lillie +