I  remember  growing  up  I  had  a  strong dislike  for  May.  May  was  the time  of the  year when we were forced in school to be a part of a May Pole Dance. From my perspective as a young child it was the dumbest thing we ever did in school. Ever…

Historically some have written that the Maypole dance was almost definitely a fertility rite meant to symbolize the union of the masculine and feminine, which was a major theme in May Day celebrations across the historical Pagan footprint. As a third grader that would have been beyond my comprehension. I am so glad I didn’t know at that time. I would have simply said “That’s gross!” And yet even as clueless as we all were, I still had to participate because the teachers told us that we had to, and I trusted their wisdom and authority.

So,  what  does  this  have  to  do  with  our church  at  this  point  in  time? Well  most people really do not like the idea of physical isolation. And yet we simply need to follow the  guidelines  of  the  best  medical practitioners like the CDC and other known medical scholars in the field whether we like it or not. We are going to be dealing  with this COVID 19 pandemic for quite a while. I believe that we will be lucky if we can return to church in the fall.

This situation is traumatic to all of us. From my extensive work in the field of trauma and recovery, the step that begins the healing process is Acceptance. As a church community we simply have to accept that we are not going to be physically together for a while. And make the best of it!

Being a faithful Christian has never been an easy task. Being faithful means that we draw of the strength of our faith whenever we face adversity. Now is the time to do that! Please take the time to think about how you can make a positive difference in the world even given all our restrictions.

Be a Blessing to Others, Rev. Fred