Pastoral Letter to the Congregation

 November 11, 2020

 

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8, NRSV)

 

Dear Members & Friends of Community United Methodist Church, Quincy:

 

Grace, Mercy, & Peace to You and a word of thanks to all of our veterans who have served our country over the years on this Veteran’s Day!!  I write to you after a restful, renewing, and relaxing trip to the coast and wish to thank Sandra and Judy for holding down the fort at the office and for Pastor Ray for his message on our worship video last weekend, and everyone who has helped us in our online services.  I am writing this pastoral letter to share a few thoughts regarding the presidential election last week and where we stand in regard to re-launching in-person worship.  

This past year leading up to the election has been quite contentious.  It is hard not to see that political tensions and divisions have been rising over the years and are at an all-time high.  There are times when the political world intersects with our faith, and for many of us, our faith is what helps informs our political values and beliefs, regardless of where we stand.  There are places when Scripture and the Gospel are political, particularly when it comes to how we treat the poor and the marginalized when looking through the lens of Jesus.  Likewise, our Wesleyan heritage calls for us to use the lenses of Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience in discerning our moral insights.  Whether you voted for President Donald Trump, Joe Biden, or one of the third-party candidates, there may still be some lingering feelings of fear, doubt, resentment, anger, and uncertainty.  As your pastor, I am pastor to ALL people regardless of how you voted.  I will continue to provide pastoral care and am happy to be a listening ear anytime regardless of what you believe or who you voted for.  

Now that the election is over, we need to work towards healing some of these divisions and work towards unity and each of us as followers of Christ can lead the way towards the healing of our nation.  I want to challenge everyone in our church to reach out to someone you know voted differently than you or holds a different viewpoint and have a conversation.  If you think that things could get contentious, find someone both of you know and trust to moderate.  In September during our annual conference’s laity session, our conference lay leader, Micheal Pope issued a challenge to pastors and laity to engage in these uncomfortable, yet necessary conversations that we need to have if we are to heal as a society and nation.  

We have some very contentious topics that can test our unity, particularly around race, gender, sexuality, immigration, and science to name a few.  Next August, the re-scheduled General Conference of The United Methodist Church will be meeting in which there is still a lot of tension around human sexuality from the special General Conference in 2019.  Again, these are uncomfortable, yet necessary conversations we need to have, although like one of the podcasts I regularly listen to, the rule of these conversations should be that we all respect each other’s lived experience and not put our doctrines or convictions above anyone else’s lived experience.  We can learn a lot from each other and by doing so, our lives can be much richer.  I am hoping to facilitate some of these conversations starting in January, although I encourage anyone to facilitate such conversations anytime as well.  

In regard to re-launching in-person worship, the church council, worship committee, and I were hoping to re-launch on November 15.  Unfortunately, this is not going to happen due to the continued rise of case counts and that COVID-19 is becoming more widespread in the Quincy area.  Plumas County is getting closer to the purple tier, which will prohibit us from worshiping indoors, as our conference leadership asks that we abide by our county’s public health orders.  I know this is getting very old and is disappointing, as it feels like just when we start to get our footing again, the rug gets yanked out from underneath us.  I know I miss you all and preaching to a live congregation, yet as I will continually remind everyone, it is my moral and legal obligation as your pastor to keep everyone safe and healthy.  While we are tired of hearing this, staying home, practicing social distancing, wearing our masks, and washing our hands is doing our part to do no harm and keep each other safe.  They are a means of grace, as we need to do this for those who are immune-compromised and at high risk of contracting COVID-19.  Any decision we make is not made lightly.  Each decision is made with a lot of prayer, and is a collaboration between the church leadership and me.  It is not unilateral.

I am also aware that some are beginning to feel very disconnected and would like to seek input if you are.  What can we do to help you re-connect?  What can we do to help you not feel left out?  And, how would you like to help in accomplishing this?  This is something I would like to brainstorm with the church council, but we need your input.  We may be facing being apart for a while longer, so want to try and vision for the longer term.  Likewise, if you are contemplating going to another church that is open or with fewer restrictions, please schedule an appointment with me so we can talk, pray, and discern together.  

This past year has been a challenge, yet I am proud of how you have been patient and how we have persevered together in the midst of these changes and up to the election.  I am proud of how you have connected with us online, provided feedback, or asked questions from the printed bulletin and sermons or from watching our services on YouTube.  I am proud of how you continue to financially support our church, as there are still bills that need to be paid.  I want to express my gratitude for your support of the lay leadership and myself, as there is so much we have had to learn and continue to ask your prayers for all of us during this time.  Most of all, I am grateful for all of you and the work we have continued doing in our community.  As the days grow shorter and as fall becomes winter, let us continue to work towards healing the divisions we face, see each other as siblings in Christ, and do not be afraid to have some courageous conversations.  As always, please feel free to give me a call or meet with me on Zoom. 

 

Peace & Blessings,

Rev. Andrew Davis