December 3 Update from Eliana Maxim
Seattle Presbytery
“I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” Psalm 27:13-14
Dear friends,
As we enter this Advent season filled with the promise of possibilities, we might still feel as if those possibilities are limited due to the ongoing pandemic and the sharp rates of infection raging across the country. There is the hopeful glimmer of vaccine availability for the most vulnerable and frontline caregivers in the next month or so, with the expectation that widespread access will come by spring. And yet we must wait.
But how shall we wait? The temptation is to succumb to pandemic weariness with all its rules about social distancing, mask wearing, and bubbles. The psalmist cries out that in the waiting for the Lord, we can lean on our belief, our conviction that God’s goodness is in the land of the living. In the land where our neighbors, friends and strangers alike, reside; where their well being and health are just as precious to God as our own.
And so in this season when our hearts long even more for connection, to sing our favorite hymns and carols about the Christ child, to see each other’s faces reflected by candlelight, we urge you to please refrain from in person worship or gatherings. The Stated Clerk of the PCUSA, Rev. J.Herbert Nelson wrote recently about this, and we join in his request that we “choose life and life more abundantly as our Scriptures require.”
We have learned to be innovative and creative; we have practiced alternative forms of collaboration and communication; we have connected with our communities to be the partners they need us to be; we have learned to trust that God walks with our congregations despite a global pandemic. Let us continue to believe in the goodness of the Lord and take courage!
In grace and peace,
Eliana Maxim
Co-Executive Presbyter