From the General Presbyter

It has been a joy visiting congregations again in person! Our congregations have done an excellent job with their online presence yet there is something wonderful about being together.

This is where the brakes screech!

I’m enjoying the last of the Olympics when I hear the mayor of Baltimore requiring masks in all indoor spaces. The next day, I went to the Maryland.gov website and discovered in the Baltimore area, the indoor mask recommendation applies to Baltimore City, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, and Harford counties. Why? Because Baltimore and the counties of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Frederick, and Harford have substantial community transmission of the COVID-19 Delta variant, according to the CDC.

One half of the churches I have visited have required masks throughout the service. The other half, not. One of our churches, Roland Park, has a great practice: they use red, yellow and green wrist bands expressing comfort level with touch during greetings!

Like a squirrel, sliding down the bird feeder pole, we are going downwards, but not totally. Again, the Spirit is calling on us to be community, to be creative, to up our online game, to give generously, and to count our blessings.

Annoying? Oh yeah. But while we are annoyed, let’s flex our adaptive muscles! I’m headed to the “gym” right now!

– Jackie