COVID provided a year-long sabbath
Community Congregational United Church of Christ gathered outside for Easter Sunrise Service. Photo courtesy of Steve Van Kuiken
COVID affected all life at Pullman church, provided year-long sabbath
COVID impacted everything at Community Congregational United Church of Christ in Pullman from all the in-person gatherings they had to hosting homeless families in their building for Family Promise.
All the in-person ministries had to stop, said Steve van Kuiken, the pastor
"The pandemic has provided "an opportunity for people to slow down and reflect and to think about what their priorities are in their life and spiritual practices are part of the priority, which some people have really take advantage of that," he said.
"The level of their engagement is heightened and more engaged than in the past. The spiritual path has been heightened by the pandemic. In a general sense it almost has served as a year-long sabbath. Some folks have been able to really find a richness in that forced pause in their lives and opportunities to continue their spiritual search," he said.
The church has been doing Zoom worship, trying to stay connected with one another that way.
They added a 24/7 free little food cupboard outdoors at their church for people to come by and take whatever they want.
"Sometimes the church emphasizes the journey outward and emphasizes engagement," Steve said.
"The pandemic established and reconnected us with our roots, a good root system from a spiritual perspective," he said. "It has helped us realize we are not human doings, but human beings.
"Spiritual activism that forgets to grow its roots is pretty short lived," he continued. "From my perspective as a pastor, the pandemic has offered us the opportunity to focus on the journey inward."
A high percentage of the congregation are vaccinated, he said, estimating that probably 90 percent are vaccinated.
"We are pretty unanimous at this church that being vaccinated is an important thing to do, both for personal protection and for protection of the broader community. We share with each other and our friends the importance of vaccinations, informally, but have no formal role in that," he said.
Community Congregational UCC will be moving to in-person worship sometime in the summer.
They were able to meet in smaller groups following restrictions. In Whitman County, they are still in Phase 2, which has freed things up so some members are travelling now.
Before the pandemic, the church was aware and involved with homelessness on the Palouse. That hasn't changed that much.
"There's a heightened awareness for public health and importance of the safety net for people in our local community and the broader community," Steve commented.
For information, call 332-6411 or email steve@pullmanucc.org.
Copyright@ The Fig Tree, June, 2021
