Pastor’s Corner: Imagining

Try some imagining…

Imagine driving into the parking lot of Church of the Holy Cross on a Sunday morning. You’re wearing your cloth face mask, of course, as you exit your car (if you forgot one, somebody will get one for you). There’s a line forming along the side of the mauka building, so you walk down in the Hamakua direction to find its end. Much like the grocery store, there are tape marks on the walkway to help you keep six feet away from other people waiting.

The line winds through J’s Café and passes by the sinks. There’s soap and water or, if you prefer, alcohol-based hand sanitizer. There’s still tape on the floor, of course.

As you enter the sanctuary, things look different. The pews have been moved to the back of the hall, and there are folding chairs instead. An usher checks your name as present. The only bulletins are in large print for people who have difficulty reading the screen. There are no Bibles or hymnals. Video cameras on tripods and a video control station are at the front along with the projector cart.

Another user directs you and your household to available seats. You and your family within a bubble of – you guessed it – six feet of space.

The service – well, I’m still imagining it, too. Congregational singing carries too many risks. We may spend more time in silence. We may pray with some movement. We will certainly enjoy the sounds of the organ and the live piano once more. It will be shorter. It will, of course, still be streamed on the Internet.

With God’s grace, it will help refill your spirits. With God’s grace, it will help settle your soul.

With aloha,

Pastor Eric