It was just last Sunday…a week ago today. The sanctuary was dark. The lights were out, but the sun was shining through the huge stained glass window that was the focal point over the altar. It was so beautiful it almost took my breath away. I often said that there were many sermons that could be preached from that one stained glass window.
As I neared the doorway, I paused. I turned and looked back at the stained glass window. I took a few moments to linger and bask in this special place. It is difficult to explain. It has been our church home for 47 years. My son was baptized there. My daughter was married there. My Mother-in-law’s funeral was there.
I looked at the brightly colored segments of stained glass. My eyes immediately went to Jesus, hanging on the cross, with large drops of blood falling from his wrists and feet and a piercing in his side.
I had a feeling that I might not be back here for a while. It was a sad, unsettling feeling. Things had been changing rapidly.
Many years ago I was asked to serve on Altar Guild. I joined in a group with three other ladies. They were all much older than me. I was surprised that despite our difference in age, I felt so comfortable with them and enjoyed working with them so much. As the years went by, I realized more and more what an honor and how special it is to be able to serve our congregation in this small way. Our duties included changing the paraments, placing and removing flowers from the altar, setting up, taking down, and cleaning up after communion and recording the individual cup communion counts. Today those tasks seemed a little more important than usual. COVID-19, the Coronavirus, was taking hold and getting very close to our community.
Keeping our congregational members safe was on my mind. Usually, we dust the communion railing after each communion service. This weekend, I wanted to do more than that. How could we clean the railing effectively, but not damage the beautiful oak railing? Was there anything extra we needed to do to keep our church family as safe as we could from unknowingly being exposed to this highly contagious virus? We had the elderly and members with cancer, compromised immune systems, and other illnesses to think about. Was there anything extra my partner and I should do to keep ourselves safe when handling the used communion cups? We came up with a plan to do the best we could and prayed that everyone would stay safe.
Now both services were over. The communion ware was washed and put away. The railing had been cleaned. The countertop had been disinfected. The flowers had been removed from the altar so it was ready for the Wednesday night Lenten services. That unsettled feeling was back. As quickly as things were developing, would we be able to have Lenten services? Would we be back in church next Sunday? Would our congregation even be able to worship in our church for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter this year? It was not something I could even process.
I had promised our Pastor that I would leave through the main door and check to be sure it was locked. As I closed the door and gave it a few good tugs, I knew it was secure. I got a lump in my throat thinking this might be my last time here for a while. Just the same, I knew that the worship will go on. It may be in different ways, but it will go on.
I was thankful for the opportunity of communion that day. I was also thankful for an important reminder that our Pastor always gives us following communion, “You have heaven to look forward to.” Those are important words to hang onto at a time like this.
Now, it was just seven days later. This morning was so different from a week ago. Our church emailed the church bulletin with the complete service and hymns. My husband and I listened to our church service on the usual weekly radio broadcast. I knew that the church was basically all but empty as that service was happening. After the service, I went to Facebook and watched part of that same broadcast. There was piano music, our Pastor, the message for the day, and a few voices singing. I was sitting in front of my computer, but I was “in church”.
What a blessing to have this opportunity to worship at such a time. As I listened, it warmed my heart to look at the stained glass window behind our Pastor. As my eyes scanned over that beautiful window, I noticed it. The altar was missing something. The flowers. The flowers that myself or my altar guild partner would have put there had this been a normal week. So much had changed so quickly. It was hard to imagine that we were only seven days from normal.