Believing Without Seeing: Community Announcement
Good afternoon community of Louisville United Methodist Church,
Did you know indoor plumbing was invented in the 1840s, but it wasn’t in popular use until the 1940s? By ‘popular use’ I mean still only in 50% of homes and buildings. Similarly, the television was invented less than 100 years ago (1927) and not popularized until the 1950s. What we’re learning is that while the Earth continues to rotate and orbit the Sun at the same pace as 100 and 200 years ago, the reality is that humanity and life are moving much faster than they used to. Today we send short messages, letters, voice calls, and video calls through the air without anything but handheld computers. It’s mind-boggling if you let your imagination run with all the ways the human body, scientific discoveries, and inventions have progressed.
I have heard it said on a TED talk (I just don't know which one) we have been asked to believe in impossible things. It has been my experience that the more impossible things I’m asked to believe in, the more I need examples, demonstrations, and personal experiences to believe the new ‘impossible’ things. Working in a technology industry seemed to have increased my reservations instead of diminishing them. And yet, new technology, new discoveries, and new illnesses continue to arise in our ever-changing world.
Between the years 1860 and 1864 Louis Pasteur discovered the connection between “microscopic organisms” and illnesses. Handwashing and other sterilizing practices were put into place in the medical field, and it was a complete game-changer for perpetuating human health and life spans. It would be some time before there was an identified delineation between viruses and bacteria.
All of this is to say, people had to believe in something they couldn’t see to have the positive effects of handwashing. My belief system holds that God is with you through the experience of the Holy Spirit whether you believe or not, but I simultaneously believe in viruses, bacteria, and the practice of handwashing.
With that in mind, we are going to step into a new practice this weekend with worship by meeting remotely. We will leverage the belief that God will be with us wherever we are, and that the Holy Spirit will continue to nurture and care for our faith community. Pragmatically, this will most likely be bumpy and offer a bit of a learning curve for all of us. Your worship team is committed to offering the best worship experience we can and learning from each week’s offering.
I was not trained in seminary for a worldwide pandemic. I was trained to be a lifelong learner, to listen to experts, to learn from other peoples’ experiences, and to offer the best care possible for my community. Offering care includes considering your spiritual, mental, and physical well-being. My prayer is through grace and a belief in something we can’t see, we can be disciples in a world needing patience, prayer, and healthy practices.
This may be a bit more of an adventure than you signed up for, but I am confident that if we keep showing up for each other - through worship, prayer, phone calls, emails, and random acts of kindness - we can see our way through this time of uncertainty. Please reach out if you have questions or concerns. Please reach out if you need assistance understanding how we’re doing ministry differently. Please reach out if you need someone to bring you food or other supplies.
As we’ve talked about for the last two weeks in worship, please utilize the resources available to you to learn more about COVID-19. Make good choices by washing your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds, avoid unnecessary contact with people and surfaces in public, and stay home if you’re not feeling well.
This will impact all gatherings for the faith community in the building. Effective immediately choir, small groups, Ad Council, and other events or gatherings are no longer being held in the building. I’m working with the Trustees to have clear communication on the building and with the third-party organizations that utilize our facility. Resources for staying in relationship and continuing our personal and communal growth in discipleship will be incrementally shared as this shift is a work in progress.
I look forward to the day we gather again and can share our stories of growing in adventure, creativity, and believing in things we hadn’t yet seen.
Peace,
Rev Elizabeth