Why we aren’t eating during Holy Week.
Holy Week approaches, and in years past, that would mean that it’s almost time for us to gather not only at the altar, but also at table for meals. But not this year. This year we will be able to gather at the altar, but we will not at the table.
In the recent masking survey, the vast majority of the respondents indicated that their comfort level includes remaining masked for the time being while indoors. Eating a meal would be in indirect conflict with wearing a mask. I tried drinking coffee without removing my mask on Sunday morning. It went poorly. So, we won’t be gathering for a simple supper in the parish hall on Maundy Thursday. Or eating together in celebration after the Vigil. Or sharing a potluck breakfast between Easter Sunday services—at least not this year.
Eating together is one of the fundamental practices of the Christian faith. One of the things I love about Redeemer is the gusto with which we enjoy eating meals together. It is one of the things that I have missed most in the past two years.
One of the things I have been talking about often with my kid recently is doing the thing that we know is right even when we don’t want to. It is not an easy lesson of a kid, but then again, it’s not an easy lesson for me either.
Choosing what is the right thing to do is an essential act of discernment for us as stewards of God’s love. How we choose to interact with, to make space for each other in the presence of the God who created us and loves us, is the measure of how close we are coming to the heart of God. Choosing to continue to wear masks, to postpone the moment when we sit down to a meal together is hard, but I believe it is the right thing right now; the thing that looks like being a steward of what God has given us in the Church of Redeemer—each other.
I am looking forward to celebrating our journey through the Passion of Jesus on the way to resurrection with you this Holy Week, whether you are joining in-person, virtually, or in prayer. And I hope that soon we can celebrate the resurrection around altar and table.
—Fr. Jed Fox, Rector
rector@redeemer-kenmore.org
The Rev. Jed Fox
The Rev. Jedediah (Jed) Fox has been the rector of Church of the Redeemer since January 2015. Prior to being called to Redeemer, Fr. Jed served as curate and assistant at The Church of St. Michael and St. George in St. Louis, Missouri, and was a seminarian at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin while attending the General Theological Seminary. Fr. Jed was raised at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Helena, Montana.
You may contact Fr. Jed at rector@redeemer-kenmore.org.
Church of the Redeemer
Welcome to Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.
Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. We are a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.
The Episcopal Church welcomes you.