“A First Step”

Mark your calendars now for an outdoor, in-person worship service on the front lawn of Christ the King Lutheran Church on Sunday, July 19, 2020 at 9:15am! This worship service will also be live-streamed via ZOOM using our normal Sunday morning worship service link, so those who do not wish to participate in person can still access worship from their homes.

Over the past few months, I have been meeting regularly with local pastors, Synod leaders, and other pastors from across the country. (Incidentally, there’s at least one good thing about ZOOM!) These colleagues have been a wonderful source of support, encouragement, and care for me in these extra-ordinary times. We have helped one another in navigating issues that none of us had ever anticipated, and we’ve been a sounding board for each other as we figure out how best to do ministry in this digital environment. Over the last month or two, a dominant topic of discussion has been how best to re-convene for in-person worship when it is deemed safe to do so.

Overwhelmingly, the idea of gathering for in-person, indoor worship services is not gaining a lot of traction nor support. The amount of work and preparation for indoor spaces, much less the necessary disinfection of indoor spaces after and between each event, is incredibly daunting. Additionally, the respiratory nature and transmission of COVID-19 makes gathering inside for a worship service a high-risk activity, making many if not the vast majority of congregation members hesitant to return. Please be assured that we at CtK are working to make this a possibility in the future; but I cannot tell you yet when a worship inside our sanctuary will be possible.

In the meantime, we will take advantage of the beautiful summertime weather in Durango and hold our first in-person worship service in four months on the front lawn of our church building. Holding a worship service outdoors does help to mitigate some of the more difficult issues around worshipping together indoors; but there will still be mandatory precautions in place that will allow us to gather in the safest way possible for all who wish to participate. Please note the following requirements.

1. Participants must register ahead of time. Please go to https://www.ctkdurango.org/worship and click on the sign-up link for the July 19, 2020 Outdoor Worship Service. That will bring you to a sign-up page. Please enter each worship participant individually. (You can use one email address for multiple sign-ups, if needed.)
2. Participants must wear a face mask for the duration of the event.
3. Physical distancing requirements will be in effect. Please maintain at least six feet of distance between households.
4. Bring your own chair(s) or blanket(s).
5. Dress appropriately. There is little shade available in our front yard, so be prepared for warm sunshine.
6. In the case of inclement weather, please check your email on the morning of the event for updated information or news of cancellation.
7. Bathrooms in the building will be open for emergency purposes, but the rest of the building will remain closed to the public.

We will still offer Holy Communion on the afternoon of Sunday, July 19. Use the appropriate signup to register for that by going to https://www.ctkdurango.org/worship and clicking on the Holy Communion signup link.

At this point, this is the only in-person worship service we have scheduled. If it goes well, however, we hope to be able to offer these in-person, outdoor worship services once a month. Stay tuned for more dates as they are announced.

And finally, thank you to everyone for your flexibility, patience and understanding over these last many months. I know this is a trying time for many, and a regular worship life around the community of your brothers and sisters in Christ is a major aspect of health for all. Having that community taken away so suddenly and for so long is not an easy burden to bear. If you are struggling, or if you are in need of help, or if you just need to talk, please let me know.

Peace,

Pastor Tim

“Summertime 2020—Stay Connected Online!”

Summertime at CtK has always brought about a different tempo. Whereas the academic year (September thru May) is usually full of meetings and events, summer normally sees only a few big events as people are away traveling, or hiking, or fishing, or gardening, or…

This year, things will be a little different, I think. There may indeed be some travel that people are able to do, but for the most part I imagine many people will stick around home. Lots of typical vacation destinations are still closed or only partially open, anyway. So, let me assure you that as you begin your summertime plans that – whether you are at home or venturing away for the first time in months – that CtK and its ministries will be continuing. Online worship services will continue. Online Bible studies and fellowship groups will continue. Online M-Team meetings will continue. And these are things you can access from anywhere, so long as you have WiFi or cell phone reception and a data plan.

Please also be assured that the CtK staff, Council and I are addressing what the future of in-person events and meetings might look like at CtK. The date for those in-person events is still unknown, but in the meantime there are many things that we will need to change or adapt regarding our physical space to keep people as safe as possible. I will keep you all posted as more information becomes available about the resumption of in-person events.

I appreciate all of your flexibility, patience, humor, and grace during these months. I’m grateful to have such a wonderful congregation to accompany me through these wildly extraordinary times.

Peace,

Pastor Tim

“Forty-eight Days and [Still] Counting”

 It’s Day 48 today… 48 days since the Bible study that was held on March 12 – the last Bible study I led in person and the last time I was physically in a room with a group of people.

48 days.

Life is different after 48 days under Stay-at-Home Orders, that’s for sure. Whereas 48 days ago, news and life seemed to change daily, if not hourly, my world today is on a pretty well-scheduled routine. But I still find myself grieving the way of life that I lived just 49 days ago. I miss being with people. I miss not second-guessing my interactions with people around town. I miss restaurants and playgrounds and racquetball (wow, I miss racquetball!) and meetings over coffee. And I miss worshipping in our Sanctuary. I miss preaching to people in person, and not to one, lone green camera eye. I miss shaking your hands after worship. And I miss gathering with you all around the Communion rail to receive that tangible sign of God’s grace and mercy towards us.

Unfortunately, it seems that many of these things will have to wait even longer before we can enjoy them in person again. At least, many of these things will have to wait before we can enjoy them the way we used to. It is becoming more and more apparent that – even as restrictions are eased – life as we knew it 49 days ago won’t be back anytime very soon. Recommendations and restrictions affecting the size of groups that can meet together will likely increase incrementally and slowly, which means in-person worship gatherings like we used to know will not happen for some time still.

For now, based on Colorado’s “Safer-at-Home” Order, San Juan Basin Health Orders, and the recommendations of the Rocky Mountain Synod Bishop, Communal Worship Services and Meetings at Christ the King Lutheran Church will continue to be suspended through the month of May 2020.

Worship via Zoom will continue. Committee meetings, Bible studies, and informal meetings will continue via Zoom. You can find links for these gatherings on our website at www.ctkdurango.org/worship.

One notable change, however, as the Stay-at-Home order is eased so is the ability for Holy Communion to be celebrated. (Yay!) You should be able to access a sign-up page from our website (www.ctkdurango.org/worship) that will enable you to choose a time slot to come to CtK’s campus to receive this Sacrament beginning May 10, 2020. Up to six people can sign up for any particular 15-minute time slot, which will give time for prayer requests and distribution of communion in a safe way. Please refer to the sign-up instructions for more specific guidelines and rules for celebrating this Sacrament in as safe a way as possible.

Thank you all for your continued support as we navigate this whole new world together. I’m happy to be on this journey together with you.

Peace,

Pastor Tim

My, How the World Has Changed!

My head is spinning. Every day feels like a week, and every week feels like an eternity. It’s difficult to get a handle on a world that seems to be changing so dramatically, so quickly.

I looked at my newsletter article from last month (because I honestly couldn’t remember what I wrote about!), and chuckled as I read about what was most pressing for me at that time: the renewal leave grant. Fear and worry and constant vigilance against the coronavirus was nowhere on my radar at that point. (It’s been completed and mailed in, by the way! Yay!)

Still… my how the world has changed.

So, dear Church, how are you? We are not even two weeks into this new reality of physical distancing, and we have a long way still to go before this threat passes. Are you prepared for a marathon? Are you pacing yourself? Are you taking care of yourself emotionally, physically, spiritually? How are you?

As of today, I’m doing okay. I’m sad. I’m concerned for the longer-term effects that this virus and accompanying disease will have on our economy, our world. I’m worried about all those who do not have the kind of financial resources set aside to weather such a sudden and unexpectedly long loss of income. I’m scared for children and families for whom time together is not pleasurable, but frightening due to abusive relationships. All of these thoughts swirl around me almost constantly.

Yet, I also wake each morning and go to bed each evening in prayer. And – wow – do I find that to be a powerful way to start and end my waking hours! A time to be quiet; a time to reflect; a time to gain perspective on all of this from God’s eyes – this helps me immensely. Lately, I haven’t had a lot of words to offer in those times of prayer. I’ve just been sitting with all of those heavy emotions and letting God’s Spirit hover over them, gather them up, and transform them from fear and worry and angst into peace, love and action.

I hope that you might find this time “in exile” to be fruitful for your own spiritual life and practice. If you’d like some ideas for prayer practices, let me know. In the meantime, let me encourage you to visit https://www.ctkdurango.org/faith-formation-at-home/ for some great tips and activities that can aid you and your spirit during this time.

Peace be with you. Stay safe and healthy!

Pastor Tim

 Writing the Renewal Grant. . .

This week, I have been awash in words. Between the Renewal Leave Grant, two sermons, a Bible study, a newsletter article, and numerous emails, I feel like all I’ve done this week is write. Then, write some more. Then, write some more. Then… you get the idea.

But the hallmark achievement of the week has been completing the first draft of the Renewal Leave Grant. This accomplishment marks the result of many hours of work, data collection, meetings, and – you guessed it – writing. But writing was only the last step. Before then, we needed information from all of you, and you came through brilliantly. I was so impressed that we received almost 100 responses from the Renewal Leave Team’s Survey. The results from that survey really helped us to hear what it was that you, the congregation members of CtK, wanted and craved for yourselves and this community during the Renewal Leave. So, thank you!

Once we received that information, we tabulated the results and began forming a rough outline of what that Renewal Leave will look like. The results indicated that there was a lot of support and desire for more opportunities for congregational networking and fellowship and combined worship services; so that will be part of the plan. Also included will be ways to delve deep into understanding your spiritual gifts and how your gifts interface and interact with the gifts of others. A process for discovering your spiritual gifts and a follow up retreat to learn more about them will be part of your time together, too.

In the last week, then, the Renewal Leave Team has been hard at work crafting that language to be used in the actual grant. Once we have a chance to review it and edit it, we will present it to the Church Council at their meeting on March 10^th. With their approval, it will be finalized and sent off to the Lilly Foundation for their consideration. We will know whether we are awarded the grant by late August. (Just a reminder: the actual Renewal Leave won’t take place until Summer 2021.)

Thanks for all of your participation and prayers. Keep ‘em coming!

Peace,

Pastor Tim