Remember when I told you that we were going to have two amazing Christmas Eve services? And we imagined having hot cocoa with one another outside in between?  And you all went right away and registered online so we’d have an accurate count of how many people to expect? It seems I spoke too soon.

So much can happen in just a few days. Since that very confident announcement, the pandemic has escalated alarmingly in our region, even affecting some of the people closest to us. People in our congregation. People who were intending to lead worship in some way. We’ve had to change our very hopeful plans for Christmas Eve, and the next couple of Sundays.

Specifically, we’re going back to virtual services for Christmas Eve, December 26, and January 2. We won’t be in person for any of those worship experiences. I know that’s disappointing. Frustrating. You might feel angry or sad at that news. I do, too.

I’ve been saying that we have to keep dancing with reality. Remain light on our feet as the ground shifts. Maintain our balance by not holding too tightly to our plans. A sense of non-attachment is a healthy perspective at any time, but especially helpful in a pandemic.

And yet, rather than feeling like I’m dancing with reality, it sometimes feels like I’m playing dodgeball with the pandemic. Rather than lightly shifting my perspective, I feel like I’m frantically diving out of the way of an incoming hazard. The least graceful version of a dance possible. And it’s easy to feel like I’m losing this particular game.

Even so, I’m not giving up on the dance. I care too deeply about a hopeful vision of community. It may not work as smoothly as I hope. I may have to give up some of my preferences in order to bring that vision into focus.

Yes, sometimes I’m going to make a very thoughtful plan—in mindful collaboration with other thoughtful people—and we’re going to get whacked in the face with something we didn’t see coming. We can beat ourselves up and say that we should have seen it coming. But that really doesn’t do anyone any good.

Instead, we pick one another up. We plan again. We reorient ourselves. We course correct.

Alright, Reality said no to that plan, but we can try this other way and see what happens.

Sometimes the very best we can do is try something and see what happens. Hopefully what we are willing to try is intentionally aligned with our deepest values. It might be tempting to try something reckless and desperate, but we don’t have to act from a space of desperation. After all, we still have one another to dance with.

I am so grateful for all of the people who invested time and energy into planning and collaborating for these holiday celebrations. It isn’t what we originally planned, but I do hope you’ll celebrate with us online. We still have a beautiful—and hopeful—message to share.

Rev. Randy Partain

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