The strength needed to end violent hatred comes from God.
As the increased numbers of people who have been vaccinated and the lowering of new COVID-19 cases allow us to loosen safety precautions, Bishop Hughes reflects on three things that God is bringing to our attention in a new way. (Time: 5:39.)
On Wednesday, May 19th, in response to the improvement in COVID-19 risk levels, Bishop Hughes issued a revision to the Journey Forward guidelines for the diocese.
We've had a complicated and difficult year, says Bishop Hughes, and while vaccines are bringing us greater freedom and a sense of hopefulness, there is also anger and frustration. As we move forward, she asks us, who do you need to forgive? And who do you need to ask for forgiveness?
The Bishop’s current maximum attendance limit is 100 persons at an in-person gathering, whether indoors or outdoors, provided those present can maintain 6’ distance between households.
Bishop Hughes is planning to schedule services for Confirmation, Reception, and Reaffirmation of Baptismal Vows this summer, in July and August, for all those candidates originally scheduled for 2020. Services were postponed because of the pandemic and the necessity for these services to be in-person.
The Welcoming Prayer is defined as “a method of consenting to God’s presence and action in our physical and emotional reactions to events and situations in daily life.” It developed as a fruit of Centering Prayer practice.
Many of us, even when we’ve had to hold tragedy and blessing together during this time of pandemic, have recognized that there has been goodness that God has placed in our life and that goodness is very often people and not things. As we head into the next phase, Bishop Hughes asks us to consider: what is it that we want to hold onto?
Bishop Hughes reminds us that as an Easter people, we know that God uses everything around us for resurrection, including the change we are going through during this time of pandemic.
After a year of pandemic, folks are just tired. We've had enough of dealing with pandemic and tragedy and we're ready for something different. And here's where I think we might be able to make a difference in Holy Week: what if we intentionally shared God's love?
