The tension on social media, in our conversations, on the news is palpable. Several times over this past week I heard people bemoan how tired they were, or how anxious they were about the election and/or the rise in Covid cases across the country and in our own state.

So much is pressing down on us. Health Care professionals are seeing a rise in depression and anxiety, calls to hotlines or people scheduling extra appointments.  Pastors are reporting that they are anxious about how to lead worship inside the building. Nobody has any sense what the financial health of the congregation at the end of this year will be let alone next year. And yet Stewardship campaigns are underway.  Schools are going from hybrid models to all virtual. We are entering the meteorological season of darkness. At the same time, it feels like the darkness is more than shorter days of sunlight.

If you feel like the darkness is closing in, I encourage you to reach out for help. Seek those places or moments where you can find some light. Call a friend, call a health care professional, take a walk, step away from the computer screen, bake cookies with the kids,  paint or draw a picture,  read Calvin and Hobbes ( my favorite) or be the light for someone else.

At our last presbytery meeting during our worship we focused on remembering and naming all that we have lost this year. For our Presbytery meeting worship on November 10 we will focus on “Finding the Light in the Darkness”.  Join us as we come together to share our stories of moments of light, identify those places where God’s light breaks through and lift up the names of the saints who are close to our hearts.