Can you feel it? Fall is in the air! The fresh leaves of Spring are becoming discolored and dry. Cold sneaks in with the morning air. The sun bids goodnight to the moon a little earlier each evening. And Summer has started its migration to the other side of our planet.
Unfortunately, COVID is not passing as willingly as the Seasons.
Our Fall “plans” are really our “Fall Hopes”. We must consider COVID requirements and all the uncertainties that accompany this pandemic. To “plan” anything during the last few months has felt like playing tag with a blindfold on. Not that the plans haven’t been good ones, it’s just that we’ve been on a run-away train that switches tracks with little warning or much reliable explanation.
Adult Ministries are all about groups. Whether it’s a Life Group, Men’s or Women’s Groups, a Home Church Group, Celebrate Recovery or Surf Ministry, they all happen in the context of a group. Although challenging, members of our DCC family have found a variety of ways to gather and connect. Whether it’s been a creative gathering of the Groups listed above or simple things like weekly walks, meeting a friend for coffee, using Zoom or other online platforms, or just a phone call, there are many opportunities to break through the barriers of isolation. Obstacles have turned into opportunities. Discouragement into growth. Independence into reliance.
Many of you have found new ways to serve and more time for study, prayer and growing intimacy with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Many are making new efforts to share the Gospel with family, friends and neighbors. There’s no doubt that God has been on the move in our personal lives and the corporate life of the Church.
I want to encourage all of you who are still feeling isolated, afraid and alone to seek the strength and peace of God. Pray for a safe way to connect with others, especially your Brothers and Sisters in Christ. Contact the church of DCC or myself and we will explore options to build you up during these challenging days. Though these can be frightening and uncertain times, we can trust that our Father will protect and guide us.
Ps 91:1-4 says “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge, his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.”
The Lords Blessings,
Pastor Shawn
Dungeness Community Church