October 22, 2020
Hello, Calvary!
It’s been a long time since I’ve reached out to the whole congregation. I’m so glad I’m able to write a letter to you about what has been happening in my world, outside of our Calvary community. I love that we can share in this manner, and I appreciate Pastor Alice and her commitment to keeping us connected through our Enews.
As many of you know, after my bout with COVID-19 in March and April, I was dealing with long-term “post-symptomatic disorders” including shortness of breath and tightness in my chest as well as sudden and profound fatigue. This has persisted throughout the summer and into the fall. After many tests and doctor visits, just in the last two weeks it seems these symptoms have subsided. I’m very happy to say that I’m feeling, at least physically, somewhat back to normal!
One of the biggest changes Greg and I are facing is the sale of our house of twenty years. After much thought and deliberation, we have decided to move from our home and purchase a new house in Castle Rock, where we will live together with my parents. Both my mother and my father are in their 80’s and they are the point where they need more help daily. We have all always been very close, and Greg and I decided that it’s now time to be together and help my parents as they age and become more dependent on us. It has been a stressful transition, though, including having soon to move temporarily into an apartment while our new house is being built. Our move-in date isn’t until June or July of 2021, so there’s some time where we have to live in a smaller place and put most of our belongings in storage. But overall, we are excited and happy about this very big change. Still, we ask for your prayers of support and peace as we navigate these new “waters.”
Another major challenge in my life is how deeply the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted my profession and career as a musician, choir director and singer. I’m so deeply grateful to be the Director of Music at Calvary, but I can’t help but admit how heartbroken I am daily not to be able to lead our choir and bell choir in weekly rehearsals and services in person in our sanctuary. It’s a “new normal” as so many are saying, but for singers and musicians in general, it’s a traumatic and drastic change that only seems to linger on, longer and longer. Really, for all of us, it is a test of patience, but also of love. My prayer is to hold on to the principle of loving one’s neighbor, because that is what this is about…we must persevere in doing all we can to mitigate the most fatal pandemic we’ve experienced in our lifetimes; it’s about caring for each other in spite of the great sacrifices we have all made in letting go of what we held dear in our past. This pandemic will subside, I’m sure, and however painful the time it takes for it to end, we will one day be together again as a congregation, singing praises to God in our sanctuary! In the meantime, I am thankful for the technology we have to keep us connected, even affording us opportunities to be imaginative and creative in how we worship virtually.
Lastly, I am deeply grateful for the loving and caring community that is Calvary, and the amazing pastoral staff I have the privilege of working with. They have been my balm and shield in the midst of this tumult, and I am forever grateful. If it weren’t for the unrelenting love for one another and the grace extended every day; the unexpected humor and laughing we experience weekly in our Zoom meetings, and the brilliant, shining light that warms me every time we are together, reflecting the love of God…well, I would be in a much worse place. A huge thanks to them, but also all of you, dear Calvary, for who you are and for caring so deeply.
With much love,
David
PS: I am still available to record your hymn requests!