Blessings to all this school year

I write today thinking about teachers and students attempting to engage with a new school year. My good friend has a classroom of 30 and says it is hard to see them all on a screen. She told me her screen froze and they all disappeared. Then one of the students got ill during class and there were many background noises appropriate only in a sitcom. My hat is off to teachers! God bless you and keep you safe and sane!

School personnel are also being challenged. My sister is an office administrator in the Midwest and her school is open for business. All adults are required to wear masks and social distance, but precautions are far from perfect, and my sister knows what COVID-19 can do. After twelve days of illness, our brother awoke with severe tremors and difficulty breathing. He had to be rushed by ambulance to the ICU. Have you ever tried speaking to someone in the midst of uncontrollable tremors having difficulty breathing? It's very scary. After hearing my brother, my sister was frightened to report to work, fearing the illness that hit our brother. The night before school started, we talked by phone and she sobbed. She is widowed and needs the income. My hat goes off to school employees stuck in difficult situations. God bless you and keep you safe and sane!

My niece, who is a widowed single parent, is trying to work full-time and make sure that all four of her children are doing well in their "classes." I can't imagine. My hat goes off to parents trying to help their children do virtual learning from home while maintaining their own jobs and income. God bless you and keep you safe and sane!

My daughter was offered a coveted teaching job, but could not find adequate day care for her toddler and turned down the position, risking and hoping the opportunity might come again next year. My nieces and husband are engaged with online college programs, each having their own set of challenges.

My family is just one of many, many others – consider the number multiplied throughout our nation – dealing with educational challenges, work and family safety in this time of COVID. We may not know the many struggles others are trying to manage.

If it helps, here is a Curse on COVID written by Dr. J. Mary Luti, a Massachusetts retired seminary professor and ordained UCC minister:

"Maker of the Universe, You want us to respect and care for all creatures, not curse and destroy them. But couldn't we make an exception for this virus? It's terrible, and doing so much harm. You yourself were not above cursing things. Remember how unhappy you once were with us? You sent a flood. And Jesus didn't go easy on the fig tree. He cursed it, and it withered, just like that. I don't understand why. But I do know this: Cursing shouldn't be done lightly or often, but now seems like a perfect time. People have suffered so much. So, forgive me if I'm crossing any lines here, but here goes: You malevolent horrible virus, you microscopic nasty, you pox with spikey crown: I maledict and curse you! I imprecate and revile you! I execrate and scorn you! I summon science to annihilate you, to bleach you and to wipe you, to test you and to trace you, to send you writhing into the void! With righteous strength I oppose you! In the name of Life, I damn you: Be damned and be gone! Be damned and be gone! Be damned and be gone!"

Let us keep others in our hearts and prayers, knowing others could use a bit more grace these days, and being gentle with one another.

God Bless and Keep You,

Pastor Nancy

About Tehachapi Community Church, UCC:

No matter who you are, no matter where you are on life's journey, you're welcome here!

The Tehachapi Community Church, UCC is an open and welcoming community of faith that believes that each person, created in the image of God, holds a piece of the truth. Therefore we respect each person's unique spiritual journey. We invite you to experience the difference that religious freedom in a caring community can make in that journey.

We are located at 100 East E St., in Tehachapi. During the current pandemic things are a bit different. Please call us at (661) 822-4443 to confirm the plans for the upcoming Sunday. Feel free to visit us online http://www.tcccucc.org.