Grace and Peace to each of you.
Yes, this is my usual greeting to you in the Brookmeade Beat, and it is especially clear that we need both grace/mercy and peace these days. The omicron variant of CoVid-19 is in our midst, infecting members of our community as well as many others. As a result, we have decided that Brookmeade should stop in-person worship immediately, until circumstances are safer. So, regretfully, we have canceled both our Christmas Eve service tomorrow evening, and the morning worship service this Sunday, December 26.
Please, if any of you contracts CoVid-19, contact our office by phone voicemail at (615) 352-4702 or by email to Brookmeade@comcast.net. We want to support you in any way you may need.
And your worship team has not abandoned you! A short video of lessons and carols, recorded last Christmas season for virtual worship, will be posted on our YouTube channel tomorrow, and a link sent out to all who receive the Brookmeade Beat. In addition, a short liturgy with instructions for the end-of-year ritual that was planned for this Sunday will be posted before December 31. The carols are sung or played by small groups, so you can be more comfortable singing along. The end-of-year ritual is a meaningful way to help cleanse yourself of those parts of 2021 that need to be left behind. We hope you find solace in both, as a route to joy this season.
We also have plans for posting more meaningful virtual worship services in January and as long as necessary to get past this virus surge. We are a community of faith, and we have faith that this, too, shall end, and that we shall survive through the power of God’s love for us and for the world.
Merry Christmas!
Onward to a better and happier New Year!
from Pastor Beverly and all your Brookmeade Pastoral Team
brookmeadeucc.org 