Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
I write this Tidings article from my dining room table. Not because COVID-19 is keeping me at home, but rather, our building suffered a power surge from a recent storm on Monday afternoon. We didn’t lose power, but a few pieces of electronic equipment were fried as a result. Specifically, we will need a little work done to our fire alarm system and out internet hardware.
Why I bring this up, is because the repair, for the fire alarm system, is not as simple as replacing an electrical board and then we are back in business. We have an older system and new boards are not made for it anymore. Therefore, we are presented with a decision, do we try and scavenge for old parts, hoping there is someone else who, rather than throw their old system away when they upgraded, decided to donate it. Or do we upgrade the portion of the system which was damaged knowing it will need to be done eventually. The first (salvage) option is cheaper and quicker. But while it solves the immediate problem, it doesn’t take care of the larger issue, that we weren’t even aware of, and that is portions of our fire alarm system are out-of-date and need to be replaced. The second option (update), is more costly, takes a bit more time and leaves us a little vulnerable in the short term, but ensures our safety in the future.
I think churches are in a similar situation right now as we deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. As we are exiled from our building and needing to figure out how to be the church during this time, certain ways that we have grown accustomed to and relied upon are being exposed as out-of-date or potentially even broken. Some we knew about, others have caught us off guard. As we discern when we return to the building, we will have to make decisions, like the one we were faced with for the fire alarm system. Do we continue with parts that are out dated or learned that they are broken? Do we go for a short-term fix that will work immediately, but might leave us vulnerable for the future? Or are we willing to take calculated risks, that might leave us exposed and vulnerable short term, but will provide long term security for our future.
I want you to know, I am not thinking of anything specific as I write this. All I want to do is have you thinking about the question. Together we will move into the future and decide what it looks like for Holy Trinity. Perhaps, that is the most exciting thing of all, while there is a lot of unknown, that does not mean we are passively moving forward into the future. God, through the power of the Holy Spirit is beside us, behind us and in front of us, leading the way. With God, we have some say in what the future of Holy Trinity looks like. Some will be new, some will be old, together it will be good.
Grace and Peace, Pastor Tim
p.s. – If you are wondering what we decided to do about the fire alarm, we tried to salvage replacement parts, but there were none to be found, so we will have to upgrade. Sometimes, the decision is made for you!