From the Rector: Parishwide Check-In to Begin
As restricted activities and physical distancing continue to change the landscape of our personal and parish lives, leadership at Eastern Shore Chapel has begun an initiative to look in to the current welfare and concerns of our membership. This weekend, phone calls will be forthcoming, in which members of the vestry, staff, pastoral care, clergy and lay volunteers will reach out to our ESC family for a general update on health and well-being.
A casual ‘needs assessment’ will also be offered. We are hoping to identify areas of need, concern or anxiety where an extra hand, ear or heart could make a difference. At the same time, we are hoping to help bring some parishioners in to a more effective communication zone. For example, many of our members are not subscribing to The Chimes newsletter online. Others are unaware of our online Sunday service of Holy Eucharist via YouTube..
This collective effort is meant to remind folks that ESC is a compassionate and proactive faith community, even, and especially, in these unprecedented times. If you are available and willing to make a couple of calls to ‘take a pulse’ and/or offer help with any practical needs that may be going unmet, please contact our Parish Secretary, Laurie Fox at
lfox@easternshorechapel.org
or give a call to the Parish Office at 757-428-6763.
Our Collect for the Fifth Sunday in Lent references “the swift and varied changes of the world.” How’s that for an understatement?! In the days ahead, we will continue to be the church, most likely in new and unimagined ways. We will continue to offer prayers and praise, despite separation from our accustomed physical proximity. We will remember those in particular need and offer thanks for our common journeys.
Rest assured that Eastern Shore Chapel is in stellar hands—those of the Divine. Our church home is also being looked after by some of the most dedicated and talented colleagues one could imagine. From clergy to vestry, volunteers, staff and (especially) sextons, the campus at 2020 Laskin Road is only temporarily scaled-down. Even now, we’re adapting, preparing, and planning to carry out our commission to love and serve others in Christ’s name, regardless of the world’s impediments and uncertainty.
Stay the course. Remain rooted in love and faith. Resolve to look after each other and minister to the least among us.
Peace & blessings,
Cameron
The Rev. Cameron Randle
Rector