Eastertide Update: From the Bishop

From the Bishop

Dearly Beloved in Christ,

One of the joys to be found even in the midst of this horrendous pandemic is the opportunity we all have, if we are technically able, to drop in on one another. It might be a bible study through a zoom video conference among college students, or Compline in a priest’s living room with their husband roped in to assist; or a gathering of small church leaders who have literally “dropped by” virtually for an unstructured chat. It was during one of these chats I heard the following comments, and share them with permission:

  • All we need is here. I’m reading Etti Halverson’s The Interrupted Life, where she says that what we need is inside us. “Ultimately they cannot rob us of anything that happens," Halverson writes.

  • There is an emptiness in all of us; but what a week (Holy Week) to have an emptiness? It’s a time to ask – how are you really doing?

  • I’m learning the gift of technology; I’m in a learning process, including inner process…. Created my first church service on zoom for Palm Sunday. Had family members join in.

  • I’m reaching out to people I haven’t talked to for years.

  • It’s actually hard to realize that you have time to take a breath. You wake up in the morning, wondering what have I forgotten to do? Then you realize your situation; grab the phone, and time is gone!

  • Others reach out to us. A simple call just asking if we are alright; then after a tornado siren goes off; and here’s another call from the same person – simply asking “Still okay?” and then they put down the phone and probably move onto their next concern. You are left grateful for their concern, and feel the joy of that person.”

  • When people don’t think they have family, we remind them that we are their family.

In my last official communication, I said that we would re-assess our situation in gathering for virtual worship after Easter. In line with our state’s continued efforts at virus mitigation, I am pushing out our policy on staying at home to worship through May 4th. At May 5, we will reassess. I am encouraging two changes. One is that, where possible for our online gatherings, we return to Eucharistic worship as the norm on Sundays, continuing the practice of “spiritually communing” while worshipping remotely from our homes. Eucharistic diocesan-wide services will continue to be streamed on Sundays at 10am for the present time. 

Second, some congregations may have the capacity for, or already are, streaming their own worship services. As you do so, or begin to do so, I encourage you to find ways for other liturgical participants to also join you online. Readers, musicians, intercessors and even preachers can be streamed in remotely from their homes if you use Streamyard or Zoom, which are the different platforms we used for the Holy Week services.

The ongoing situation allows us to continue to experience diocesan worship led by different churches across the state, as we did during Holy Week. In April and early May we will be led in worship by St. Anne’s by the Fields, Ankeny (April 19), St. Michael’s, Mt. Pleasant (April 26), St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, Des Moines (May 3),and Christ Church, Cedar Rapids (May 10).

In an article on the Eastern Orthodox Church of America’s practice on what they are calling “obligatory fasting from Holy Communion,” Mark Roosien reminds people of St. Mary of Egypt who received Holy Communion once after she had fled into the desert to repent (and where she stayed seventeen years). Could there be a positive side to such an obligation, he asks. “Abstaining from the Body and Blood of Christ can also create such a yearning—for the sweetness of God.” He contrasts this with the danger of routinization. “Holy Communion can simply become another appointment to keep in one’s weekly diary. Obligatory deprivation presents an opportunity to bring back into focus the stark and bracing reality of the eucharistic sacrifice.”

That was the attempted focus of my Easter Vigil sermon. The day will come when we grab Jesus round the ankles like the two Marys. In the meantime, God is very present around us as the chat among the small church members indicates, and in the many ways, I know, God is appearing to you in this moment when the familiar is removed and you learn more deeply not only how to walk in faith, but also how rich the yearning for the sweetness of God is. 

In the peace and love of Christ,

+Alan Scarfe

The Rt. Rev. Alan Scarfe, Bishop of Iowa

Diocesan Worship this Sunday

This Sunday, worship will be offered by St. Anne's by the Fields in Ankeny at 10:00am and will be found online on the diocesan Facebook page, the diocesan Youtube channel, and will be available on the diocesan website. Call-in option for members who only have access to phones (participants on the phone will NOT be able to be heard but will be able to hear the service): 312 626 6799 and enter the Meeting ID as prompted: 365 765 527#

Churches across the diocese offering regular online worship

Let us know if you are offering regular online services and would like to be added to this list!

Morning Prayer

Noonday Prayer

Evening Prayer

Compline

Sunday Morning Worship

In addition to the weekly online diocesan service, the following churches are offering online worship each Sunday.

Bishop Scarfe's Easter Sunday Sermon

(Excerpt) This is an Easter for us like no other. We’re still resurrection people, invited to look up. How do we affirm ways of life-giving in our current situation? How do we contact even when we cannot touch? Jesus told Mary not to hold onto Him. It seemed a strange exchange, really. However, “she was being called to love and trust and serve, even though she can no longer caress his feet or hear His voice pronounce her name” (William Temple, Readings in St John’s Gospel). And so must we. For that's where we are.

How do we find the ways? How we do that is different for each one of us, will be different for each one of us. The day will come, as it did for Peter, when we will sit together. We will comfort one another. We will begin to recount how we've seen the loving God touch us, and be spread through us, into the world about us even in these days of not touching. And we will give thanks to God that we believe in a risen Lord, who amidst all that is thrown at us as human beings, remains our God—and not only ours, but the God of all creation. And in God's name, we say, and to God's glory we say, Christ is risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

READ the full Easter sermon

Zoom Security

Image from iOS.jpg

Recently Zoom had a breach of its email/password security. If you are the account holder for your church's account (or have your own personal account for Zoom) you should change your Zoom account password immediately. And, as with other best internet security practices, NEVER reuse the same password on multiple sites. If you know that you have reused the same password on a different site, it would be good to change that as well. This breach does NOT put the people's information who are logging in to your meetings at risk, only Zoom account holders.

Mission and ministry during the pandemic

As we continue living into the ways that COVID-19 is shaping the world around us, we would love to share the ways you are finding to pivot your church’s ongoing ministry efforts in new ways that address the needs created by COVID-19.

  • How are you caring for peoples’ spiritual, emotional, physical, social, and safety needs?

  • How are you finding ways for your church to help bring calm and encouragement to stressful situations and community members' worries over COVID-19?

  • Are you finding ways to minister to the marginalized and vulnerable? Ways to help ensure the fair distribution of resources so that these groups don’t fall through the cracks amidst the public health crisis at hand?

  • Are you working with other faith leaders in your area to assess and meet the needs of the socially and economically vulnerable? 

  • Have you listed your COVID-19-related ministries on the Asset Map?

  • If you have volunteer needs, or people who want to volunteer to help during the pandemic, visit http://volunteeriowa.galaxydigital.com

Faith Climate Action Week

unnamed.jpg

This year marks 50 years of celebrating Earth Day and Iowa Interfaith Power & Light invites you to participate in a variety of events over the next week as well as in their own event on April 29th.

 
Meg Wagner