Rector’s Update: 22 July 2020
“God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!”
Psalm 57:3b
Dear Restoration,
We have been sharing with you our plans to gather in person in the sanctuary for worship. It starts this Sunday, July 26! Our team created a fun video to show you what it will look like and to remind you of things you need to remember- like entering through the second floor doors! Make sure you watch it before you arrive on a Sunday!
We know that most of you will worship with us remotely on our YouTube Channel. Some of you might want to join us in the sanctuary. We’ve got room! And we need to know if you are coming. So please sign up by 4pm on the Friday before the Sunday you want to attend.
TONIGHT: A Zoom Discussion about Racial Injustice in the Church
This is our last week! We will again start at 7:30 tonight and keep it to a firm hour- so log on a few minutes early to say hi and plan on being finished by 8:30. You are welcome to invite a friend.
We break our time into thirds with lecture, moderated breakout discussions, and Q&A for all participants. We are using the book, The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby. It is organized chronologically. Tonight we will discuss the period from 1968-the present (pages 152-end).
When we have our breakout sessions, I will ask you to consider this question: “What is troubling to you?” It is intentionally open-ended. You could be troubled by the content of the book or the way it is presented. You could be troubled by something new that you learned. You could be troubled by the behavior of Christians and the Church during this time period: “by what we have done and by what we have left undone.” All of us have opinions about these things and not all of our opinions are the same!! We want Restoration to be a place where we can talk openly, honestly, and charitably about things that are difficult. I hope you will join us tonight and share the things that you find troubling.
You can join the conversation, here, or through the ‘This summer at Resto’ box on our website.
Things on the horizon…
Phase Alpha of reopening started with 4 Yard Worship sites on July 12. That was a roaring success! So we are bringing it back. Stay tuned for more information about locations and time for Yard Worship on August 16!
Many of you have asked about the sacrament of Holy Baptism. We have a plan! In the long tradition of Yard Eucharist and Yard Worship, we present to you: Yard Baptism. They will happen outside, in Restoration’s Yard, on September 21, October 18, and November 1. We will time it so you can watch the Sunday service on YouTube Live and then show up at Restoration for baptism. You do not have to attend worship inside the sanctuary to participate in the outdoor baptisms. More details and a sign up form will be coming soon. We look forward to celebrating baptisms with you.
I’ll let the words of Psalm 57 take us out: “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!” Amen and amen.
-David
