Laying 2020 to Rest
This has been no ordinary year. So much loss, so much struggle, so much hurt. What have you experienced this year that you would like to “lay to rest”?
This Sunday for outdoor worship we will place the sign of peace on the Advent tree. I look forward to sharing in that moment with you, and in the tranquility of Christmas Eve outdoor candlelight worship–in the struggle of long ago was born a savior to heal and transform the world. It seems fitting that in preparation for those Advent and Christmas Eve moments, that we might also reflect on what it means to lay this year to rest in peace–which will be the focus of the following Sunday’s worship service.
On Sunday, December 27th (the last Sunday of 2020), you are invited to a “requiem for 2020.” Requiem is a word that simply means “an act of remembrance” and it comes from a Latin root meaning “rest.” This will be an important opportunity to do the spiritual work of remembering and coming to peace with a unique, harrowing, and pivotal year, especially as we prepare to step into the next one.
In preparation for that moment, I’d love for you to reply to this email and share what you would like to entrust to God and lay to rest from 2020. Perhaps it is something personal, perhaps it is connected to the wider social and political struggles we are grappling with. Perhaps you’ve experienced an insight or gained clarity born of the challenges this year, and you want to carry that perspective with you in peace. Perhaps it is a loved one (a person or beloved animal) who died during the pandemic, and maybe could not be grieved as he or she deserved.
There won’t be an outdoor worship service December 27th, instead Requiem for 2020 will go live on our website and on Facebook at 10:30 AM.
During this service we will make space to lay the year that was before the God who is and who will always be. Dan Mosely, Pastor, executive coach, and author of Lose, Love, Live will share a poignant reflection to encourage, inspire, and spur us to step into 2021 with spiritual resilience.
I look forward to sharing in the holy moments ahead with you, from the joy of a Christmas parade, to the peace of outdoor worship on this last Sunday of Advent, to the mystery and beauty of Christmas Eve. And I am grateful to share in the holy struggle we shoulder together as a family of faith–a struggle of heartache, grief, and suffering–trusting that love came down and that God keeps showing up to be with us, to bring us together, and to make us new.
See you Sunday,
