March 15
Stephen MattsonDay 276: Never On Saturdays.
March 15. It's been a full year. The Covid thing became a thing on March 12ish, 2020. And I started writing these blog posts three days later.
If you read these posts on our church website, you'll see that I have taken up 80+ pages worth. I went back and looked at some of the first posts, written now a year ago.
My posts have progressively gotten longer. There is a some cultural observation, and even more self observation. And you have been gracious with me in reading this stuff each day.
So here I sit, with my added 10 Covid pounds. I have never been as physically inactive as I have been in the past twelve months. And it shows. And Zoom meetings, with all its digital sterility, have become a new if not preferred normal for me.
While I did hit MVP Gold this past year, I had as many trips cancelled as were accomplished. Conversely, and because I was home more, I have read more books this past calendar year than I can remember doing so in the past.
I started writing these nearly daily blog posts because we found ourselves socially distanced. When we first were not permitted to physically gather, I wondered as to how I could continue to "pastor" you.
I also thought to write so someday, when this pandemic is a memory, Deb and I would self-publish these "Covid Chronicles" as coffee table books for our children. (Not that they asked.)
Over time, it has proven interesting to see who the regular readership has been. Some read to be entertained or encouraged. Others may read to see what's going on in my head that day.
The majority of you are active in our church. Some others moved away, but still read to feel connected. I will admit, the ones who stayed in town, but left our church, and still read this stuff, I wonder why they would bother (?)
But I also sense that some have wanted me to read their Bibles for them. And perhaps others wanted these daily blog posts to be a substitute for church. Neither of which was or is my intention.
I will confess this to you; I've created a monster. Meaning, I created for myself a pressure to have something witty or something profound to offer you each day. Some days were more successful than others, you and I will agree.
Starting out, I never imagined it would go as long as it has.
That said, and with a partial sense of fatigue, going forward I've decided to relax the obligation. I wonder if it would be more helpful if I only wrote when I actually had something important to say. (And I rarely have anything important to say on a Saturday.)
Because I don't want to continue to be a daily substitute. I don't want to be a false replacement for anyone reading their own Bible. Or connecting with a local church.
This coming Sunday we will again physically gather as a church. A new venue. And we have to remember again how to do this. We have equipment we need that we do not yet have. We need to figure out how our "phygital world" will fit together. And we will need volunteers to help.
All of which will seem foreign. Because it's been so long. We've all forgotten how to be inconvenienced. This coming Sunday will be a challenge.
It's been easy to be home and screen bound on a Sunday. It's been easy to see Zoom as a preferred venue. As church, we've 2020 required so little of most of us. Especially if reading blog posts is all that seems necessary.
So with less frequency I will continue to write. Not to be a substitute anything, but hopefully to serve as an encouragement.
And probably never on Saturdays.
