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Dear Church family,

Lately, I’m feeling like I’ve left more undone than I should have. That line in our confession always gets me – it is the things left undone that haunt me – and I have a list every week of what has been left undone. In the past, so called “ordinary times”, I would have said that I’m just not doing enough. Enough of my volunteer work. Enough for my family. Enough to make the world a better place.  And now, in many ways, we’re called to leave more undone, or at least seemingly do less.  

On the other hand, I’ve been talking with my favorite friends from college, twice a week, for an hour each time. (We haven’t talked this much this regularly since graduation and it is glorious!) I’m texting and talking more often and more in-depth with local friends than I ever have. My family is having Zoom calls with my parents more frequently than we used to see them. That’s not “undone.” In some ways, we are taking better care of each other now than we did before.

And yet I still have the feeling that with respect to our church family, I am (as your warden), and we are (as a community), leaving too much undone. We haven’t yet built in the ways, the structure, of regular communication and checking in on each other. Yes, Vestry is going to start our listening tour by contacting every member of the congregation but that’s not quite it. We need fellowship; it is essential to our well- being as humans and our identity as people of God. How are we taking care of each other now that we don’t have regular check-ins at the peace and at coffee hour? Would you use Zoom or another service for virtual coffee hour? Or is there something else that would help fill your need for fellowship? 

Please contact me at wardens@christchurchwaltham.org to let me know what we can do to help you feel connected to our church family.

This week, I’d like you to join me in praying for those who are alone:

Almighty God, whose Son had nowhere to lay his head: Grant that those who live alone may not be lonely in their solitude, but that, following in his steps, they may find fulfillment in loving you and their neighbors; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

From BCP, page 820

May we all feel God’s peace.

Christine Dutt, warden

Dear Christ Church Family,

I kind of wish that you could be a fly on the wall in my house right now. One of my daughters is FaceBooking with two friends, one is eating a snack and I’m typing this. I’m really glad you weren’t here 20 minutes ago when we were snapping at each other. It is the new normal and we’re sort of settling into a routine. There are moments of joy and grace and peace and anger and frustration and anxiety. Sometimes we see one of those emotions alone and sometimes the emotions are all mixed up together, like some crazy cocktail. The new normal adds an interesting twist:  how do we adhere to the directive to stay home and still help the most vulnerable among us? Is staying home the highest good? I don’t have an answer and I freely admit that I was relieved to hear an emergency management expert who is also an Episcopalian say he struggles with the same question and didn’t have a great answer either. But he is working with the Diocese and with the state government to find a way forward that allows us to follow our call as Christians to help others and incorporates current best practices for public health. From being a part of conversations about how to honor the mission of Grandma’s Pantry and Diaper Depot in the time of Covid-19, I know firsthand that the leaders of these ministries hear the call to help others strongly and are working to find ways to allow us to honor that call while keeping our congregation and those we help safe and healthy. It isn’t easy. Today’s answer may change next week or even tomorrow but please know we are actively working on this.
Sure, we are struggling to find our way but please join me in trying to see the light amidst the darkness. So many people do hear God’s call to be a helper, to love others as we love ourselves. Some of the efforts might be imperfect – homemade cloth masks for hospital workers come to mind – yet God’s work continues everyday. Every effort to help someone else, to keep someone else safe, continues God’s work. I’d even argue that I’m doing God’s work by staying home because by staying home, I am doing what I can do, both protect my neighbors and live as an example. It seems counter-inuitutive: seemingly doing nothing is taking positive action. However, we are not doing nothing in our homes: we continue to love our family and friends; we continue to pray; we continue to reach out to those we love and those we know who might be lonely or need a listening ear. We acknowledge our interdependence and God’s call to us to love one another as we love ourselves.
Please join me in prayer: God of healing and hope; in Jesus you meet us in our places of pain and fear. Look with mercy on those who have contracted the new virus, on any who are vulnerable, and on all who feel in danger. Through this time of global concern, by your Holy Spirit, bring out the best not the worst in us. Make us more aware of our interdependence on each other, and of the strengthen that comes from being one body in you. Through Christ our wounded healer, Amen.* 

With love and peace,Christine Dutt, warden

 *This prayer is credited to Rev. Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin in the Fields, London. I found it in a blog written by Lisa G. Fischbeck for the Epsicopal Church Foundation. 

Dear Christ Church Family,

It is hard to know what to say in these uncertain and unprecedented times. Please know that as I, and Vestry and Rev. Kapya are figuring out how to do church now, we are ever mindful of the impact on you, on our family members. Some of us live alone. Some of us are facing layoffs or reduced hours. Some of us are working at home and providing care for our children full time simultaneously. I’m betting all of us are dealing with uncertainty and anxiety and stress. You are not alone now. Nor are we ever. God is with us. Always. God is with us always. This is not to say that I believe the path ahead is known or will be smooth but God will be with you on your path. Every step of the way.

I’m also reminded of a sermon I once heard that reminded me that God is God and God will take care of our spiritual needs but we are human too and we, as humans, are the ones responsible for taking care of other people’s human needs. So if you have human needs that you could use some help with, please reach out to me at wardens@christchurchwaltham.org or to Vestry at vestry@christchurchwaltham.org .

The most recent guidance from the Diocese cancels all public worship services through and including Palm Sunday, April 5. Vestry, at its virtual meeting on Monday, agreed to cancel all public worship services through and including Easter Sunday. This means that the physical doors to the church building are shut but we are actively working on ways to hold virtual services. Rev. Kapya will be holding virtual services on Sunday, March 19. It will probably be through Zoom. Please see his notice in this Ecrier for details.

It is especially hard to hear that we won’t be together in person for Easter services this year. Rev. Kapya is thinking about how to observe Holy Week and Easter. Other congregations are going through the same thing and are asking the Diocese for help and guidance.

Vestry met via Zoom on Monday. (Zoom was great for this. It was so nice to see people’s faces!) We spent a lot of time talking about where we are and how to proceed forward.
Grandma’s Pantry: discussions are ongoing about keeping Grandma’s Pantry open and how to follow all guidance from the Diocese and state and local officials.
Diaper Depot: The decision to close Diaper Depot was made prior to the Vestry meeting by Diaper Depot Leadership and Rev. Kapya.
Phil C, our treasurer, is looking into ways to move all banking online, including electronic payment of pledges.
Vestry will move forward with reaching out to all members of the congregation in the coming weeks.
We need to work on our website and Facebook page, especially with everything moving online now. So far Mary K., Jim P., Michele C., and Phil C. have volunteered. If you’re interested in helping with that, please contact me.
Vestry will be trying to find ways to keep us connected as a community. Please email us at the addresses above with any suggestions.

Before you go back to your daily routine, please join me in this prayer:

O God, our heavenly Creator, you have blessed us and given us dominion over all the earth: Increase our reverence before the mystery of life; and give us new insight into your purposes for the human race, and new wisdom and determination in making provisions for its future in accordance with your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Book of Common Prayer, p. 828.

May God’s peace be with us.

Christine Dutt,
Warden