2/21/21

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            It’s Sunday. Soon, I will be sitting in front of my computer with about 30 faces covering my Zoom window. Most eyes will be closed. Some heads will be lifted, others bowed. I will try to quiet my mind in case the still, small voice of God has something to say to me. I may be startled out of my meditation by someone sharing a message, but most of the 40 minutes it’ll just be me & my computer in the silence.

It’s awkward, but it’s what we have now. Last fall, 7 of us went to the front lawn of our Meeting House & sat 6 feet apart in our folding chairs & zoomed with others from there. Then the virus got worse & we didn’t feel safe doing it. A few Friends who used to come to Meeting for Worship in person don’t join us on Zoom. We miss them.

Computer worship is not all bad. I can settle into the silence be gently shaking my prayer balls & enjoy their soothing ring. I can pet the dog if she is agitated. I can read a bit from Batterson’s book “Draw the Circle” for some inspiration about the power of prayer & I can write a bit if something jumps to mind that I want to remember.

The best thing about Zoom worship is that I can do it with people from around the world. Early in the pandemic I started doing it with my friend who was in Yangon & a group of about 10 others with Myanmar affiliations. Sometimes we have 3 continents & 5 time zones represented. We worshipped last week with people from Japan, New Zealand & Australia. The week before included people from Poland & England. During that call, I tried to help a Friend to understand how to hold General Min Aung Hlaing in the Light. Yesterday, we considered how to hold the soldier who shot Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing in the Light & contemplated how reconciliation could come to Burma.

I hope you will meditate on that yourself, in addition to praying for the families of the 500,000 victims of CV.

HYITL,