Good morning friends,
Every Monday morning shortly after 10 o’clock, a small group of men arrives at the church. They’ve come to ring the bell as a memorial to the people across Iowa who have died in the previous week due to COVID. At 10:30, whether it is pouring rain or minus 17 degrees or if we have glorious blue skies that seem oblivious to the sad loss of life, we announce the number of deaths and we ring the bell. It is a solemn moment. We imagine the grieving families and their heartache, hoping that this recognition in some small way acknowledges their pain and lets them know that others are thinking of them.
After we ring the bell, we gather in the narthex. Sometime during the 49 weeks that we have been doing this, someone started bringing donuts. A pot of coffee appears, and we circle up chairs at a COVID-advised distance, and for half an hour or so we talk.
Maybe this is a reaction to the acknowledgment of death, a bit like the luncheon after a funeral, a time to reaffirm that despite the loss, life is good, and we are here together.
Over all these weeks we have talked about babies born, grandchildren's adventures, mailboxes, Corvettes, heart surgery, dental work, how far one person traveled to get married, computer challenges, and car accidents, all the adventures that make up life. We tell our stories and share our lives.
And you know what God has done.
God has turned a shared task into a place of belonging, friendship.
It’s happened to you. A work-group at the office, a yoga class at the Y, soccer parents standing at the edge of the field, even a committee at church, a group gathered for some particular task. While you are at the task, you begin to tell your stories, and something just as important as the task happens friendship forms. When the task is over, what you take away is friendship, a sense of caring about others, and being cared for. Maybe this is even more important than the task. Ask someone who worked at the church’s State Fair Stand what it was like. They will not tell you how gratifying it was to serve biscuits and gravy. They probably won’t even tell you how much money the stand made the day they worked and how that advanced the mission of the church. They will tell you about the people they met and worked with.
We belong to one another. We are God-designed to be connected. Mother Teresa said, “If we have no peace, it’s because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” We like to think that we are independent individuals, standing on our own, making our own decisions, but we are deeply connected. To deny our connection creates conflict and only brings us pain. It is the stuff of war.
This pandemic has demonstrated again and again how deeply we are connected, how dependent we are on one another. We depended on medical providers to step up, work harder and longer, to meet the needs of covid patients. We discovered how much we depend on farm and grocery workers all along the supply chain to get food to our tables. Scientists working in far-off labs squinted over microscopes to develop vaccines to keep us safe. And friends, on computer screens or in texts or from a distance of six feet at our door, checked in on us, reminded us that we were not alone. That we belong to one another.
In silent, often imperceptible ways, God moves among us, drawing us to one another. God is love. That is an incredible gift, received with gratitude and handled with great care.
Thanks be to God.
Blessings,
Pastor Cindy
Pastor Cindy Hickman
West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Ave
West Des Moines Iowa 50265
515-279-0826
Like us on Facebook or visit us at WDMUMC.org
And join us for worship! We worship at 8:30 in-person in our sanctuary. Please wear a mask and plan to social distance. There’s room for you! This service is live-streamed—so you can catch it on our Facebook page.
We also worship in an online worship service that premieres every Sunday at 9:30. Worship in the way that is right for you! And know you are among friends.
Coming Up At WDMUMC--
All Church Picnic May 12th at 5:30 in Raccoon River Park in the shelters. Bring a lawn chair and wear a mask as you are comfortable. It’s time to reconnect! We will pray a little, laugh a lot and share in a meal. We can still use servers. Email Pastor Cindy if you would like to help.
Memorial Remembrance
Friday, May 7th at 1:30 we hold a memorial service for Jackie Johnson. We will remember this much-loved wife and mother and friend. Please hold Bob and his family in prayer in this time of sadness.
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