Weekly pandemic update from Mitch

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I have been writing twice-a-week emails since this pandemic began. Tuesday's email has focused on COVID, and Thursday's has focused on our parish's common life together. This morning, as I woke up to write this, I had the funny feeling I was like Bill Murray's character in the movie "Groundhog Day." As many of you may recall, in the movie, Bill Murray's character is forced to repeat the same day over and over again. Quarantine can feel like this sometimes. It is hard.

I got an email from a gentleman who was very upset with the current state of world affairs, who said a very familiar thing, "I want my church back." I want people who feel this way to know that I do, too. I want to hug, shake hands, have a potluck, and host a band in our gym. I long to go on a mission trip and to celebrate the Eucharist with all of you. It is my belief that we will be able to do these things again, but to get to a place where we can do these things together in a safe way means continuing on our current path together for a little bit longer.

The numbers right now continue to rise. We have all seen the news that our hospitals here in Columbia are working at 90-plus percent capacity. It behooves us to be safe.

In the coming months, as more people continue to get vaccinated, I believe the situation will improve. We can help by acknowledging that as a community, we are each in this together. We all want the same things. We all want to be "re-opened." Social distancing and being careful is not about fearing a disease. It's about working together to get to a common goal.

In Christ,

Mitch+