More Than Memories

The Covid-19 crisis did not spare our beloved county.  The impact socially and economically has been hard and is not yet over.  However, the impact spiritually has been brighter, much brighter.

          The most important celebration of the year, Easter, came during the “Stay at Home.” order.  However, that didn’t stop the celebration.  If anything, it has intensified it and multiplied it.  Once we are past the gathering restrictions, we are still planning to have a special Easter celebration with our Community Easter Egg Hunt included.  We will also hold our Grand Opening for our Algoma campus.  Many of our other faith communities are making great plans for celebration as well.

          We can already celebrate the advances made during this challenging time.  Churches have responded with ingenuity and creativity.  Prince of Peace has had such great success with their “Parking Lot Services” that they are continuing them through the summer.  Churches have also made incredible strides in online video quality and ministry.  Meetings on Zoom have helped expand the options in the toolbox of ministry. 

          The expression goes “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone”.  People have grown in appreciation for the irreplaceable experience of coming together called “fellowship”.   Each pastor has heard it again and again “we miss being together.” 

          We are blessed that our state and local leaders have recognized the essential value of our churches.  Not all states have done so.  President Trump had to issue an executive order calling religious assemblies “essential”.  Even the Supreme Court of the United States ended up weighing in through a controversial split decision that essentially challenges the First Amendment.  We are blessed to be in Wisconsin and especially in Door County, very blessed.

          Churches are working hard during this restart to care for our individual churches and community at large.  I am a Pastor, so I want my people back together.  But, I’m also a Registered Nurse.  So, I want my people safe and our community safe.  I have a PhD in counseling, so I am also deeply concerned about their mental and emotional well-being in this time.  There are many factors involved.  I see our pastors lovingly navigating these uncharted waters (a good nautical reference for our county). 

When it is all over, we will have much more than memories.  We’ll have better churches, better pastors and better congregations.

By Pastor Mark Schwarzbauer R.N. PhD, Senior Pastor of Family Worship, Sturgeon Bay and Algoma, with future locations in Fish Creek, Southern Door and Spring Green Wisconsin