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Message from the Vicar...

Grace and Peace,

As I write this newsletter article, the trailer full of water containers still sits in our parking lot, siphon at the ready, the folded cots and mattresses from our shelter are stacked in a Sunday school classroom, and I still hesitate to pour out the large trash cans of snow melt we saved by the bathrooms to flush the toilets.

The After is a difficult place to be. Please don’t misunderstand, the During is difficult and challenging in ways we cannot fathom, but the After is where I find myself today. In the After time, life has returned (mostly) to normal, and those challenges we faced in the During time have passed. But what has not passed is the changes made in us, and how they affect us now. When I see a 5 gallon bucket now, I see a treasure to carry water, to flush toilets, to melt snow. Before it was just a bucket. When I emptied a milk jug this morning, I teared up remembering how frantic we were to find enough to send home with the 70 meals on wheels deliveries last week. So this morning I lovingly washed the gallon jug, carried it to the water trailer and filled it up, my offering to those who still remain without water, and my spiritual practice of lament and remembrance.

As we find ourselves in the After time, we also run up against the temptation to rejoice, to celebrate all that we have, and our own survival of the During time. As faithful disciples, we cannot let that be the only practice we engage in the After time. We are called to live a life of service, and our understanding of needs in our community has been broadened by our shared experience. For (most of) us, water and food were scarce for a 10-day period, but there are those in our community that live this reality every day. The pauses we feel at throwing away a gallon jug or emptying a snow melt filled trash can are echoes of the needs our neighbors live every day. The resources we can take for granted are gifts from God that we are called to steward for all of humankind.

In the After time, we need to rest but we also need to restore. That restoration is not just for ourselves, but for the entire community which we serve. I invite you into a time of listening, a time of pondering. Where can we best apply the lessons we have learned? Where is God calling us to serve Comfort, Texas in the After time and beyond. How will we continue to be the body of Christ in this place?

AMEN

-Vicar Katie