Where did Christmas go? Even though the pandemic resulted in most of us having a very different Christmas with no hugs, no big dinners, no in person church, it still seems to have passed with the rapidity with which Christmases usually do! Here we are at the end of the first week of January and at KUC we are back in the full swing of church life in the times of pandemic.

To get us in to the spirit of the New Year, thank you to Florence for suggesting “Formal Dress Week” and thank you to her for being so diligent in taking pictures of KUC staff and volunteers dressed up. The English high tea on Wednesday was a highlight of the week.

As we begin 2021, the air feels filled with hope…thanks to the vaccine which is being rolled out. Who of us isn’t counting the days until we can be back to normal gatherings. Yet we all know that while there is light at the end of the tunnel, we have a distance to go. One of the questions in my mind at this time is, how do we keep our spirits up through the coming months? When asked what ministry will be for 2021, I reply that this will be my focus at the moment. How are the ways in which we can be reminded through these coming days that God is still with us and that God is caring for all of us through these times? Here, a word of thanks to the Pastoral Care team of KUC for all of their phone calls which are integral to sustaining the spirit of our congregation.

Perhaps as part of keeping our spirits up, KUC staff are beginning to consider what things will look like for our congregation and church building when we are eventually allowed to go back to “normal” and we are also considering what that new normal will be. We know that things are shutdown for a few more weeks at least. We know how we can operate with all kinds of safety procedures when we are allowed to have a small congregation at worship and for programs. But we wish to have careful plans for a safe full reopening when that occurs, perhaps as early as this fall.

This week, the theme of worship is considering how we are close to God. I would like to leave you this week with this Celtic prayer: