Restoration Journal
News, Updates, and Resources
I adore the Church Calendar, but let's be honest, 2020 has been a bad go of it. Lent was interrupted by a Pandemic. Holy Week and Easter were mediated through screens. Pentecost and Trinity was marked by injustice, hatred, and violence. The Season after Pentecost was the season of, “Don’t breath on me.” And most recently, the Feast of All Saints was marked by epic political division. It’s fitting to now conclude 2020 with prophesy and apocalypse. Let us descend into Advent.
We have just reached an important milestone in the life of our church. Restoration has just transitioned from the oversight of our sending church to that of our own members.
Yesterday, Minnesota’s Stay Safe Plan moved into Phase 3. The governor’s office now permits two different kinds of outdoor gatherings: small social gatherings no larger than 25 people and large, socially distanced gatherings no larger than 250. What does this mean for Restoration?
“What happened to George is an affront to God because George’s status as an image bearer was not respected. He was treated in a way that denied his basic humanity. Our lament is real. But our lament is not limited to George and his family. We mourn alongside the wider Black community for whom this tragedy awakens memories of their own traumas and the larger history of systemic oppression that still plagues this country.”
“Almighty God, you created us in your own image: Grant us grace to contend fearlessly against evil and to make no peace with oppression; and help us to use our freedom rightly in the establishment of justice in our communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.” —2019 BCP, p659
