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The Pastor's Blog: Holidays in the midst of COVID-19 "...In our disappointments in not being able to do Thanksgiving and Christmas in the same way "we've always done them," we will discover new and fulfilling ways of putting the "eyes and ears, hands and feet of Jesus" to our faith during this very special season. By Dr. John E. Chowning Senior Pastor, Saloma Baptist Church, Campbellsville, KY The months of November and December in the year 2020 promise to be very challenging and different than what most of us have experienced. These months feature two of the primary holidays of the year. First, we come to the annual celebration of the secular holiday of Thanksgiving - scheduled for November 26 this year. On Sunday, November 29, we move into the Advent Season when we begin our annual time of preparation for the annual celebration of the coming of the Messiah - a time of preparation and anticipation to remember his first coming as a baby in a manger in Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago. These four Sundays of Advent - November 29, December 6, December 13, and December 20 - are part of the season of preparation leading up to the Christmas Day celebration on Friday, December 25. Then just a week later, we begin a new calendar year on Friday, January 1, 2021. In sum the next two months bring a series of significant secular and religious holidays that we have traditionally enjoyed as highlights of the year in the church, in the home, in the workplace, and throughout our culture. In 2020 the next two months will be much different because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health officials are already recommending that families make plans to not host annual family Thanksgiving gatherings because of the increased number of virus cases that are traced to intergenerational gatherings. This same advice is being given well in advance of the Advent and Christmas season because of the continuing widespread threat of COVID-19. This will impact not only the way we as families celebrate these holidays in our homes, but the impacts will be felt much more broadly. Businesses will not be able to host annual holiday festivities. Shopping patterns are being dramatically changed with the trends toward online shopping increasing significantly as a result of COVID-19. Many local businesses, many of whom depend on the holiday shopping season for their economic livelihood, may face very serious declines in sales because of the virus. Many people will celebrate the holidays in much smaller groups. And church celebrations of the Advent and Christmas seasons will be much different - we are already in discussion about this at Saloma Baptist Church. One example of the resulting change is the way we will be doing the Prison Fellowship Angel Tree in 2020. In prior years (we have participated in this outreach ministry and mission for the past 15 years or so), we have purchased one toy and one clothing item for each of the participating children of an incarcerated parent in the state prison system. In 2020 Mrs. Karen Reynolds and I have been working with Prison Fellowship, and the Angel Tree mission project will be done virtually this year. We will not have direct contact with the children during the holiday season. Rather than our purchasing and delivering gifts, we will conduct a fundraising campaign and ask people in the church to "adopt" an Angel Tree child during the Christmas season at $40 per child. Prison Fellowship will then be responsible for getting a Walmart Card to the child's guardian in that amount along with a Bible and other Christian material promoting the Good News of Jesus Christ. This is being done this way in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Be in prayer for this, along with our other Christmas ministry and mission projects which will be further outlined and discussed during the month of November and into December. So you see that Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas 2020 will be different than in prior years. We will not be able to do everything that we have previously done in prior years - such as the annual Holiday Dinner (celebrating both holidays) and Hanging of the Greens Service. Some families will not be able to have large gatherings that have been traditional at Thanksgiving and Christmas. It will be tempting to just conclude that "it just doesn't seem right...how can we get through the holidays the way things are..." Let me suggest a few things to consider even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic: Take a moment and consider how truly blessed each of us are - even in the midst of a pandemic. Sit down, take a piece of paper, and write down all the many ways that God is blessing you and moving in your life. Look at the words of the hymn "Count Your Blessings" - and "name them one by one."I hope that my point is evident by now. While COVID-19 may change the way in which we are able to celebrate the holidays in 2020, we can make an effort to create new traditions and go the extra mile in helping others. And as we do that, we will find that our disappointments in not being able to do Thanksgiving and Christmas in the same way "we've always done them," we will discover new and fulfilling ways of putting the "eyes and ears, hands and feet of Jesus" to our faith during this very special season. That is my prayer for all of us who are a part of the extended family of Saloma Baptist Church. May God bless you in this season of the year. This story was posted on 2020-11-15 06:36:24
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