In 2020 with
the advent of Covid, I foolishly thought that within a few weeks it would all be
over. I was newly arrived at my current
congregation of St. Paul Fort Garry.
Little did any of us know just how long the pandemic would last, how the
shutdown would affect everyone and how we would get through the whole thing
with a community still intact and connected during that time.
A
conversation with a friend introduced me to the mail chimp. It would import the parish contact list from
an excel file, bonus to not have to type in every name and address. This made working from home easier to bear.
Now add to the dimension that I could never remember the name of the forum, jokingly referred to it as the monkey mail and the moniker stuck. The monkey mail continues long after the
relative safety and return to some semblance of normal life.
During this
period my blog did not get added to on a regular basis, in fact it was rarely
added to at all. A period when many people thought, especially clergy, would have lots of time on their hands became
a period of being even busier. So I am
now going to attempt to compile the pieces that I wrote to the parish during
that time and hopefully you will be as entertained as they were on occasion.
My first
few mailings were pretty dismal. They
were very basic to let people know that we were going to use this forum and where
people could find services to utilize at home in the comfort and safety of their
bubble. Remember I thought this would be
ending quickly. But the days turned into
weeks, months and years!
That first
Holy week the music director, her father and I safely distanced and pre
recorded a service for the people of the congregation to share in at home, the
message they received:
Happy Easter!
In Newfoundland we'd say "We t'ree be'n at it ag'in"
so here is the link to the Easter Sunday Service, don't forget if you want to
prepare a paschal candle (1 Candle, 5 Nails or push pins) then we sort of show
you how in the service but it is definitely explained in the blog.
We included a video link here and I am not sure if it is still working
Again the video has been embedded in the blog so that you can also participate
in the service but if you just want to sit and listen that is perfectly fine
too. Oh, the address just in case you have forgotten where to find said
blog is kjlaldin.blogspot.com.
(Before all this started I had to look that address up every time, but now my
fingers just go to the keys!)
And in case you are interested in knowing there really has been only the three
of us in the building, Rachel is not just musically talented but shoots all the
video and then Doug compiles it into what you receive. They both do an
awesome job with the finished product.
So, with no further a do, have a blessed Easter renewed with the hope and the
joy of the Resurrection, and let your candles shine so that they reflect that
hope in the world.
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Some of the weekly mailings were simply items about finances,
the kitchen renovation (yes we did a campaign to renovate the kitchen at this
time), the constant care calling committee updates, tree pruning and such practical
things that continued because apparently trees and lawns still needed care and
did not get a covid memo to stop growing.
And then other weeks the mailing opened up to this:
It's been two weeks since my... last email, almost seems
like the beginning of a confession. Yes. it has indeed been that
long.
Doug, Rachel and I have made a kind of commitment to have a service recorded
for you every two weeks. The bishop offers a live service every Sunday
Morning. (The information for the link was included in the news to
know.) As with previous services you have the option of going on to the
blog that I write and having the written service in front of you as you watch
from home in a comfy chair. So without further ado everything can be
found on the blog at kjlaldin.blogspot.com or it you prefer just the youtube
link it is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp_WZ2BbTk8&feature=youtu.be
Happy Watching and "WE T' REE" hope that you enjoy this worship
experience
and a word of caution the executive of the parish plan to use this medium to
send you an update later this week about the parish, so you won't go so long in
hearing from me (and missing me too much)
And before I forget, a big thank you to those who send us notes about the
services. We are happy to hear from you and know that not only are you doing ok
but that this is helping you with your worship time.
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And so the monkey mail was born and definitely grew in the
congregation as we learned to be creative in worship, learned new ways in how we did worship, and learned how to keep people connected to community.
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