Turquoise Level

Beloved of God,

I’ve found myself thinking more and more about what might be the best way for us to mark a return to normalcy around here. I think that kicked into high gear with the news that we have moved into the turquoise bracket in Los Alamos county. I am more and more optimistic and less and less anxious all the time. In my mind I’ve already planned out big congregational barbecues, and dreamed about busy hallways and empty coffee pots all through the building. I’m feeling encouraged, though I know how important it will be to remain wise and cautious.
I want you to be aware that our services are going to look a little bit different over the next few weeks. Our Worship Team has done such commendable work to make sure that we are able to worship together online and in person through the duration of this pandemic. They all deserve deep gratitude for that good work in an exceptional time. But doing so has come with some cost, and many of those folks are in need of a few Sundays where they can be loved on and poured into as faithfully as they have poured out of themselves through this season.
I say that to let you know that there will be very little musical presence in our worship this coming Sunday. It will likely feel very different, but God will be praised and will be faithful to join us as we pray, read Scripture, and meditate on God’s Word together. I would also very much like to invite you to share your own gifts with us as Sundays like this intermittently occur. If you have a talent for writing responsive readings, if you have a testimony that you could offer, or if you would like to bless us in another form of worship, I hope you’ll get in touch with me so that we can find a way to make use of those gifts. 

Please join me this week in praying for:

• An end to this pandemic.
• Doctors, nurses, paramedics, PA’s and others who are working to keep us all well.
• Those of us who are in need of medical care in these difficult days, and for those who will be treating them.
• Those in positions of public trust at the federal, state, and local level.
• For those seeking a vaccine or receiving one; that they may be able to get the protection from COVID that they need.
• Students, teachers, administrators and others working toward the goal of education in strange circumstances.
• Those who are lonely, worried, or afraid right now. 
• In praise for the good work of medical scientists who have developed these vaccines, and for those in the public health field working to make it safely available.
• Eyes to see those of our neighbors who are not the same person they were last year, and who may be ready to meet Christ and join Him and us in His Kingdom.
• Fruitful moments of study, discipline, fasting and stewardship for us and other Christians in this Lenten season. 
• In thanks for the gift of children in our midst, and for the grace and wisdom to guide them into the Kingdom of God.
• For each other (please email [email protected] if you’d like to be added to our prayer list).

You are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world,

Marshall