Fr Robert Hendrickson

Dear Friends in Christ,

As we make our way back toward “normal” I was reflecting on some things I’ll miss and some things I won’t. Of course, the thing I won’t miss is online only worship. While it had its positives (the dress code was quite lax, the kids could be pretty wild during it) it was not something that I found terribly nourishing. I suppose that is because food is meant to be eaten — we are commanded to take and eat not just to watch.

Of course that is not to say that there wasn’t grace in taking part in worship online. One lovely fact is that it brought church into each of our homes in lovely ways. I so enjoyed seeing pictures of church happening on people’s television and computer screens. I liked hearing of the rituals and preparations that were part of getting ready to do church in our living rooms or kitchens or patios. There’s something quite beautiful about our homes becoming a site of worship and praise.

I do think that is something I will miss — the simple expression of being gathered together across distance and through the pandemic that was manifested by each of us being in worship together in our homes.

I love the fact that many whose health or other circumstances haven’t let them come to church in some time got to hear music, preaching, and more. I love that so many of you found meaning in those online offerings even as we are eager to be back in person. I love the innovative faithfulness of the choir in figuring out how to offer music of substance and depth all through this. I love that people have joined Saint Philip’s through all of this never having been there in person. I love the faithful way those who could responded to keep the church financially stable in a year when it could have been so different. I love that we baptized, confirmed, and even married folks this past year in small services that we’re all about the beauty of what was happening and not the trappings.

There is much that we missed, much that we mourn, much that we prayed would have been different. I’m reminded of a moment in The Fellowship of the Ring from a conversation between Frodo and Gandalf:

“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

As I start to reflect on the year I am realizing that, as always in our lives, there is much we have to be thankful for even in trying times. I’m proud of what we have done with the time that has been given to us though, of course, we all wish it need not have happened. Let’s keep praying that we use the time given us faithfully, joyfully, and with love as things return to “normal.”

Yours in Christ,
Fr Robert