Waiting?
Just about every person I know seems to be waiting right now.
Pastor Trevor is waiting to learn the results of his ordination examination.
Lots of people are waiting for their first or second vaccine.
Our church is waiting for one senior pastor to retire and another new senior pastor to arrive.
At least one family in our church is waiting for a new baby to arrive this month.
Others are waiting to hear what the doctor says.
Some grieving families in our church are waiting for a time when they can have memorial services for their loved ones.
People in Texas are still waiting for clean water. Some people this day are waiting for justice. We pray that neither has to wait long.
We are all waiting for spring to come, for the pandemic to end, and for an opportunity to hug our friends.
We are waiting, for something to end, for something to begin, for something to resume.
How are you at waiting?
Most of us are not very good at waiting.
In the United States, we like to keep busy and our anxiety rises when we aren’t.
Early in my time as a pastor, I encountered quiet times in the church when nothing seemed to be happening. We would be going along doing our ministries and then once a year or so for no reason at all, activity seemed to just stop. There was no pandemic. There was nothing blocking activity. The church just became quiet. At first, it worried me. Was my church dying? Had it suddenly become comatose? But after a couple of weeks momentum would pick up again. After this happened two or three times, I became more comfortable with it. It was just a waiting time. All was well. We were just waiting. Maybe this is what the writer is talking about in Psalm 46: “Be still, and know that I am God!” It was just stillness.
And even though it seems like stillness to us, the Holy Spirit continues to move in quiet ways beyond our understanding.
Here at WDMUMC, we are all right. We are faithfully worshipping in whatever way seems best at the moment. We are doing our best to stay connected. Our bills are paid. We are just waiting. We don’t know for sure when we will emerge from the pandemic. We do know what our church will be like when it does. There is nothing we can do about that today. We just wait.
This is the time of stillness. And the best thing to do in the stillness is to breathe and rest.
Soon the Holy Spirit will nudge us on. In the meantime, be still and know that God is here.
Blessings,
Pastor Cindy
Pastor Cindy Hickman
West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Avenue
West Des Moines, Iowa 50265
515-279-0826
Like us on Facebook or visit us at wdmumc.org.
And join in as we worship God! Our current sermon series is called The Way as we follow the way of Jesus Christ to the joy of Easter.
We worship in three ways:
· In-person at 8:30 on Sunday mornings. Please wear a mask. Our sanctuary is marked off to ensure social distancing.
· Live-streaming our 8:30 service on our Facebook page.
· On-line worship at 9:30 on our Facebook page
Worship in whatever way is right for you. This Sunday we will celebrate Holy Communion. Please be prepared at home with juice and bread or crackers.
Update on In-Person Worship Pastor Trevor has been tracking our worship attendance and he has reconfigured our sanctuary. You no longer need to make a reservation. We have room to accommodate those who are comfortable attending in-person! Good news!
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