The spiritual life is a life in which we wait, actively present to the moment, trusting that new things will happen to us, new things that are far beyond our own imagination, fantasy or prediction. That, indeed, is a very radical stance toward life in a world preoccupied with control. Henri Nouwe

The coronavirus shut down our world this past Lent. It has reached a fever pitch this Advent. On Monday night I joined Peter on a call with the Parish Council (PC) to discuss the feasibility of gathering for worship as Travis County’s case numbers and available hospital beds continue to trend in the opposite direction.

I am so grateful for how hard the PC and medical professionals in our community worked this summer to develop a plan that enabled us to safely resume in-person services. However, given the likelihood of Austin moving into Stage 5 Covid-19 guidelines, we developed additional protective measures. These changes, which will be put in place this Sunday and continue through the last Sunday after Epiphany (2/14), are designed to limit movement during the service. The most significant change is that we are going to suspend the distribution of Holy Communion. This hurts. Placing ‘the body of Christ, broken for you’ into your hands is one of the most meaningful acts of priestly ministry. I know that for many of us not receiving communion during worship makes the service feel incomplete. But this is the best way for us to continue to worship safely, and I believe God will honor this decision and communicate his grace to us through our prayers for spiritual communion.

All those discussions took place on Tuesday. On Wednesday we read Mayor Adler’s open-letter asking faith communities to host online-only services during the holidays. It’s a respectful, well-intentioned request. If I was in Mayor Adler’s shoes (scary, I know), I’d do the same thing. His desire to keep people safe is honoring to God.

While we believe our heightened safety practices support the spirit of his invitation, we will honor his request by suspending our 11am in-person services on 12/20 and 12/27. We will continue to meet outdoors at 9 am on those Sundays and offer an online service at 11 am. We will also worship in-person on Christmas Eve at 5 pm at the Phillips Event Center (PEC) and 6 pm out front for carols and candlelight. This is partly theological: Christmas is the Feast of the Incarnation. It is good and right to celebrate it in an embodied way for those able to do so. This is also technological: we have had problems livestreaming from the PEC, and though our internet will be upgraded the week of 12/28, there is a chance we will have issues on 12/24. Mayor Adler’s letter makes explicit provision for churches in this situation.

No writer has enriched my observance of Advent like Henri Nouwen. The quote at the top of his email is taken from an essay entitled “The Spirituality of Waiting.” Nouwen explores the patience of the key figures in the Christmas story - Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph - during the surprising, stressful days that preceded the birth of Jesus. May God give us a similar grace this Advent. We are waiting for the time of pandemic to be over. We are waiting to worship together in an uninhabited way. Let’s remain actively present in the waiting. God may indeed be working in us good things that are far beyond our own imagination, fantasy or prediction.

Nick