We may, or may not have Easter Service. Never, in my wildest imagination, did I ever think I would honestly make that statement. I do not think, in my whole life, that I have ever missed an Easter Celebration. But, here I am sitting at my desk weighing the pros and cons of Holy Week.

Of course I am going to pay attention to the medical professionals and their advise for curbing the impacts of the caronavirus. There is a part of me that wants to say, “surely God will protect us.” and another part that says “don’t tempt God.” Somewhere in between those two extremes we must find wisdom. So here are my thoughts right now…

First, it is impossible to cancel Easter. We may not be able to gather together to celebrate, but that does not mean that Easter has gone away. Easter, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is a part of our fabric–it cannot be cancelled. Down through history there have been those who tried to make it go away, but to no avail.

Second, we demonstrate love to our neighbor by not putting them at risk. We will listen closely to the experts and weigh the risks. But the bottom line is simple for me…if I love you I do not want to put you at risk of disease and in some cases death. It is hard to understand, but in this case love does not bring us together–it causes us to practice social distancing.

Third, this too shall pass. There is no real reason why we should not celebrate Easter every Sunday….every day…..every minute. So we will take each day as it comes. Do our part to help with the overall problem (social distance). Do the best we can to support one another.

I want to remind you of some things we are doing to stay in touch with each other. Of course the newsletter will continue to go out each Wednesday. The website northriver.org is being update with the most current news. We will have a worship experience online (Facebook live) each Sunday at 11:00 am. We have also created a private Northriver group on Facebook. This is a way we can share prayer concerns, humorous stories, events, pretty much anything you want to share.

We love all of you and our prayers are with you…..;Be safe.

This is my story….