Dear First Church family,
The last six months since I was welcomed at First Church have been quite the whirlwind! From Zoom meetings at 4 in the morning in Germany to finally being in the same time zone. From preaching in an empty sanctuary in Germany to, well, preaching in an empty sanctuary in Seattle. From meeting new faces through a computer screen to finally meeting some folks in person – masked and socially-distanced, of course! The last six months have been unique and full of emotions that seem to contradict each other. I have had to reorganize and reimagine what it means to be a pastoral presence during a pandemic to a new congregation who did not know me and who I did not know.
And so it was a breath of fresh air to have been welcomed to the various events and opportunities that First Church offered. And day by day, it started feeling like church again. From Monday night class to Thursday morning devotions, to all the committee meetings, to online communion and Sunday morning worship.
There is a saying that kept running through my mind, “you can take the people out of the church, but you can’t take the church out of the people!” So perhaps that is something to hold on to as we begin a new year still not fully knowing when we can physically gather safely again, but knowing that the day will come.
I am not the best at memorizing anything, so it came to me by surprise that I have memorized the welcoming words to worship. “We welcome those who are new to our community. This is a place to explore your spirituality and bring your questions. We may not have all the answers, but together we ask the hard questions and confront the troubles and injustices we see in the world. With God’s help we use our voices and energy to bring change.” I have experienced First Church living into these welcoming words and I pray that for the days and year ahead, we keep living into this communal presence knowing that we are in this together.
Blessings in this new year and see you in church!
Pastor Yvonne Agduyeng