Hi Everyone,
I have both good news and disappointing news to share with you this today.
First, I want to share with you a realization that I had over the Memorial Day weekend. It was a hard few days, as I realized that it is time that I embrace each new day as “normal”. Not a “new normal” but just “normal”. For the last 70 days of my life, I have been trying to determine how we will return to a past life that we knew to be different. What I realized is that the world was just as crazy and confusing to me before the pandemic as it is now. The biggest difference before, was that I was used to all the patterns in my life. Family, work, friends, and church all had their place. I was comfortable trying to forge my place in that world.
On Monday, I realized that it is time for a serious change to my outlook. I decided that I can no longer just try to be a voice of support as we all get through this together. I needed to take the step to embrace the fact that the new daily rituals for family, work, friends, and church is just “normal”. It is no longer to be categorized as better or worse than before. I will no longer dream of what it could have been, because each day is bringing us new blessings. I will no longer think of my life as being on hold as I wait for more clarity. In fact, if I take stock of all the little gifts of time and friendship, and solidarity that I have discovered, then I can’t trivialize them by hoping that I could have avoided all of these experiences brought on by the pandemic. Part of my job is to impart to each of you, that we get to share in this journey together…one of faith, family, and service to others.
Elevating Our Mission
“Elevating Our Mission” is a term that we came up with when we decided to have our first CFCS Mission Elevation conference 5 years ago. Today, I am announcing in a very personal message that we are postponing this year’s Mission Elevation Conference until 2021. Please click on the picture or link below the time to watch the video message below as I speak to what it means to be a part of CFCS and where we will gather next year:
What is most important now is that we step up and realize that our mission is to embrace this new “normal”. It is our time to embrace families, friends, co-workers, and everyone that we come in contact with an acceptance that the world as we live in it today is just as good a time in our lives as any other time. I understand that this message may seem unusual and even difficult, but Christ is calling us to serve in new and creative ways.
Yes, PPE and all of the new regulations are difficult, but we have a decision to make. First we can decide that we are going to make this a part of our lives and be present to families in their time of need, or we can live in the darkness of fear and worry for what is yet to come. What you can do is be the one bright moment in the daily life of anyone that you come into contact with. I can think of no other group of people than all of you at CFCS that I can speak so openly about this shared journey of faith and service. Thank you!
More to come…
With blessings and gratitude,
Robert