Staying Safe, Staying Faithful

​As both the threat and the fear of Covid-19 rises, we at Saint David’s are doing everything we can to continue to operate in as safe a way as possible.
 
Our Bishop has issued a Pastoral Directive instructing Churches on proper safety measures. I list the most relevant ones here in order to reassure people that we are taking the threat seriously. We won’t touch at the Peace. We won’t pass the offering plate. We won’t offer the chalice at the Eucharist.  The altar guild will wash down the altar rail before every service. The altar party will wash hands before the service and use hand sanitizer before celebrating Holy Communion.  If we receive further guidelines as the crisis continues to unfold, we will follow them too.
 
But, as the Bishop also says in his Directive, Churches are made for times like these. I am certainly no expert in public health. But I know that God is with us in this time and will remain with us through this crisis. With God’s help, we will get through it. And with God’s help, we will rise to the challenges we are already facing and any new challenges that come our way.
 
In the Gospel reading for this Sunday, Jesus offers a Samaritan woman “living water.” Christ Himself is that living water. And with Christ, we can walk in confidence even through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.
 
As we take all necessary precautions, I hope and pray that we can also sip from the living water of Christ. And I hope and pray that we can share that living water with a world that may seem to be dying of thirst for it. May God help us to be the people He calls us to be at this time. In Christ’s name. Amen.