I have longed to celebrate this Holy Week with you all. After two years of not being in the church, it is especially nice to be back with you all in our building, in our worship space, in our church home. Together we will pray, sing God's praises, and celebrate God's Glory. I pray that we will also share the story. The story of our faith and the story of our church home.

This Sunday we enter into the most holy time of our year -- Holy Week, a time set apart by the church in which all Christians are called on to pray and to contemplate the mighty acts of the cross. I am deeply happy to be able to move these services back inside of our church. I eagerly look forward to walking The Way of the Cross with you.

This Monday (April 4), St. Martin's will once again participate with 30 other churches in the Columbia and Forest Acres area in a listening process with MORE Justice. We will be asking our local elected officials to take steps towards curbing the rise of rent and lack of affordable housing in our city, the rise in gun violence currently facing Columbia, and mental health/crisis intervention training. Please pray for all involved as they seek to do the work of justice ministry in our community.

The heart of our church is worshiping the Lord our God and serving in Christ's name. It is a wonderful and special thing when our church is able to serve in meaningful and important ways.

I was asked this week where I found the Divine in the midst of the last two years. This question was hard for me. As a spiritual practice, one of the things that I try to do on a daily basis is to see the Divine presence in the world around me at least once each day, and to say, "Thank you" when I see it. It seems too corny and obvious to write, but I have found that the more you look for Christ, the more you find him. The question was hard because in the past two years, I have seen God a lot.

This weekend, Caitlyn and I will share with our vestry our dream of renewed evangelism -- our dream of renewed parish growth. We will share our dreams for worship and growth, for continued parish gatherings like our food truck round-up and our St. Martin's day pig roast. And we will share our dreams for giving of ourselves to others. I am praying that our weekend will be filled with mutual invitation, hopes, and dreams.

Omicron, of course, has been on a lot of people's minds. We will continue with our zone system at church. The Blue Zone is masked. The Green Zone is mask-optional for vaccinated people. We will also continue to mask when gathering in groups where physical distancing is not possible. Depending on the weather, we will use outside spaces and our patio/deck heaters. We will continue to do our best to be safe, understanding that our policies of masking and encouraging vaccination are out of love for our neighbors. No more, no less.

What's interesting to me as both a political science student and a theologian is that we as individuals seem to gravitate toward separating ourselves from each other… At no point in scripture does Jesus tell us to separate ourselves. Instead, he calls us to be agents of unity, love, and peace. Jesus never hands us the winnowing fork. It's His. It belongs to Christ the King, not us, the servants of God.

Finally on a personal note, thank you all for keeping St. Martin's alive and vibrant. Our pledging for the upcoming year has exceeded both 2020 and 2021. Our programs are running over and beyond what they were at pre- pandemic levels, and we are growing. Your love of the Lord and your commitment to this church have led to this success. Again, you are a blessing. As we celebrate Christmas, please know that the Smith family will be giving thanks for each and everyone of you.

We have new ways and opportunities to worship together based on new guidance from our bishop. As you walk into the church you will notice some visible differences.

My friends, after virtual services and an outside Christmas Eve, I am pleased that we can offer these services to you! As the time comes for Christmas Day, let us draw near to the Lord in worship and thanksgiving.

From a pig and oyster roast only a few weeks ago, and guest speakers talking to us about making room for joy in our lives, and a youth group that is averaging 19 students a Sunday to our annual parish weekend and special services such as Lessons and Carols, St. Martin's is trying hard to foster community, unity, health and joy, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Come and see what we are doing, knowing that all are welcome.

Everything you need to know about the Giving Tree in the Narthex! Pick up your tag on Sunday to help make Christmas joyful for a family in our neighborhood.

Coming back to worship if you have been away is also a process. It requires intentional purpose -- that purpose could be any number of things. Things like wanting your child to have a faith community to support them, or wanting your life to be more prayerful, or perhaps it could be as simple as, "I am lonely, I need time with people and my Lord." Whatever that purpose is, I encourage you to find it. I then invite you to take the step of setting your alarm for Sunday morning or evening. Then all that is left to do is come.