September 1, 2021
Dear Mt. Olive:
Things don’t always turn out as planned.
Let me first reiterate my profound appreciation and joy for all who came to Forest Hills Park to celebrate our Homecoming. I cannot express the joy I had just being able to see so many of you and to be able to share worship and fellowship with you; something that I have dearly missed. The Pastor of Long’s Memorial was truly a blessing to us and it is always good to have her “Home.” I thank the men of Mt. Olive because they really made the whole day possible; and I thank the Stewardess Board for their service as well. I’m grateful to the Gerald/Hall family for providing sound and to Gerald-Hall/McCray/Cozart; the best rhythm section in all of Durham. Truly, it was a memorable day; but things don’t always turn out as planned.
I had been thinking about, praying about, planning our Homecoming for several months; and it was supposed to be our celebration of gradual reopening. I had Jannie to do the survey to see how many of us had been vaccinated because we could not reopen without vaccination. The Men singing in July was a first step towards having more people in the building on Sundays. I had even met with the Class Leaders and asked them to check with their members – particularly our Seniors – to ask how comfortable they would be with my returning to home visits. All of this was to lead to a gradual reopening starting with Homecoming. Then came delta.
I cannot express the level of anger I have with the way that COVID has been handled in this country and that almost half of this country still does not take this virus seriously. Over 630,000 have died due to this virus and I grieve deeply whenever I think of that. Even more grievous is that since about May, people have died needlessly simply because they did not get vaccinated. The surge of the delta variant is due to so many people being unvaccinated; and with cases rising and hospitals across the Triangle being overrun, and both Durham and Wake Counties being in a State of Emergency, for our safety, I must withdraw my plans to reopen. This is why I have asked Mr. Evans to suspend plans for the Adult Sunday School to return to hold class each week.
In a sermon in May of last year, I quoted The Midrash (writings of 12th century Rabbis) that says this: “We should disregard one Sabbath for the sake of saving the life of one person, so that he may observe many Sabbaths.” There are many spiritual responsibilities I have as your Pastor, but in the past 18 months, I have seen my primary responsibility as doing everything I can to keep you safe. And if I should disregard the celebration – our collective gathering together – of the Sabbath to do so, then I will gladly do that.
So, until further notice, we will continue with the livestream; and depending on circumstances, Clarice may invite soloists from time to time. Let us continue to pray for all of those who are affected by this virus, and for God’s grace in these perilous times.
Sincerely,
Rev. Dr. Reginald Broadnax