Dear KirkWood Family,

We all miss being together. We miss shaking hands, giving hugs, catching up over coffee, singing together, and seeing the smiling faces of our friends as we worship and study together. We are looking forward to the day when we can be safely back together, worshiping and growing in one shared space.

But that time is not yet here, and it will be a while longer before it arrives. As of this week, more than 80,000 Americans have died from Covid-19. Over a million Americans have been diagnosed with the virus. We pray for them. We pray for their families and loved ones, neighbors and friends who are grieving, struggling, and like all of us, trying to make sense of this new world. We are called as Christ’s followers to care for the health and safety of not just you, our members, but our wider community as well.

This past week our General Presbyter, Rev. Liza Hendricks, shared these helpful words:

“Waiting is not a passive activity but a prayerful, thoughtful, spiritual practice that invites us to listen to peoples’ concerns and yearnings, hear ideas, do some planning and keep recalibrating expectations. We are all in a process of adapting from day to day, trying to keep our crankiness from overcoming our capacity to love, and trusting that God is at work helping us invent the future.”

As Virginia begins to go through phases of reopening, we are paying close attention to guidelines from the CDC, our denomination headquarters at Presbyterian Church (USA), and the Virginia Department of Health. For the health and safety of you and our wider community, we are going to continue to provide online worship every Sunday morning. We continue to encourage our small groups to meet over the phone and by video-conferencing. We will continue to reach out to members and families, letting them know we are here for them. 

In this time, know that we are here for you. If you need assistance, prayer, or conversation, please reach out to Pastor Tucker, any member of our session, or our church office. We want to stay connected. We also want to hear from you. Is there anything we can offer at this time that may be a source of faith, community, and strength? Please let us know how we can work together to continue to be a Christian Community, growing together, knowing, loving, and serving Christ to make Him known to all. You can call the church office and leave a message at (757) 766-0343 or email office@kirkwoodpcusa.org. The more we know and hear from you, the better we can connect, worship, pray, and serve together as followers of Jesus Christ.

In Christ,

Charles