by Blaine Beyer
“You don't know busy yet. Wait until Holy Week."
When I started my job as your Director of Communications back in August, several people would come into my office and ask me how I was adjusting to my new position. I would say, "Things are a little busy right now, but I think we're okay." They all had similar responses, "Just wait until Holy Week."
At the end of February, I tried to mentally prepare myself for the season of Lent and the impending "busyness" of the Easter season. I didn't know what to expect, as this was my first Holy Week as a brand new Episcopalian. Even looking ahead, nothing could have prepared me for what was to come.
March 15th was the last time we had our doors open to the public. When Father David made the announcement that in-person services and meetings would be suspended I thought, "What now? How are we supposed to keep church going with the doors closed?"
Because of the nature of this global pandemic, everything seems to change constantly. New cases of the virus are reported, cities are shutting down, thousands of people are dying. It is a very frightening and uncertain time. It seems that all we can do is wait to see what happens next.
I'm not a very patient person and I hate waiting. I need something to do. I need something to keep my mind going. I need a challenge. Waiting on the unknown gives me so much anxiety and fear.
The inevitable changes at church called for new ways to keep our community connected. We can no longer meet with each other in person, so we've been forced into what feels like a new technological frontier. In a few short weeks, we helped many of our parishioners get acquainted with online meetings, we set up a new live streaming system, we launched a new website, and we're continuing to think of innovative ways to keep our congregation together throughout this physical absence. On top of all of that, we had to reroute our whole plan for Holy Week. Needless to say, it's been extremely busy.
Earlier, I mentioned how much I hate waiting. I think my concept of waiting has changed. Another definition I found for the word wait is this: remain in readiness for some purpose. In this precarious and questionable time, I feel that God is teaching me to remain ready. Instead of feeling like we don't know what to do, we have to remind ourselves that God is preparing us for something more. That's where our anticipation should be.
As I've been standing by through all of this uncertainty, God is showing me where my purpose is. So I will continue to stay busy, waiting on the Lord.