Storage Needs

I cleared out some drawer space the other day, not because organizing professionals suggested it would bring me joy to uncover the minimalist buried deep inside my soul, but because I needed a place to store masks.

It’s absurd, isn’t it, that this would have become a need?  In five months, I have moved from using a makeshift bandana, to wearing a lovingly handcrafted face covering made of cotton and hard-to-obtain elastic, to placing an Etsy order for a “special occasion accessory” made of Czech lace, to amazoning multi-packs cut from comfy t-shirt material. I prefer the ear-loop style, while my husband has been trying out neck gaiters. And isn’t that an absurdity, too? To have already grown so accustomed to wearing masks that we have come to settle on a favorite type?

Masks aren’t the only items accumulating in many houses. There are the added totes and bins where folks who are still working from home have learned to stash their office files and equipment. And as school is about to ramp back up again, either with a hybrid design or an all-virtual one, families will be back to haggling over who gets to set up at which end of the kitchen table and needing to slide homeschooling supplies into laundry baskets when its time to clear off the table for dinner.

With all of the cabinets and closets and dressers being filled up with the stuff of our pandemic reality, here’s a quandary: where is all the baggage being stored? I mean, of course, emotional baggage. Who has room to stash all the apprehension brought on by having to make consequential decisions all day, every day? Who has room for the swelling anxiety that comes with choosing safety over education, or education over safety. Who has room for the worry, the tension, the foreboding? Short of renting a climate-controlled storage unit to contain all the restlessness, what’s a person to do?

Pray?

It might seem like a simplistic suggestion at first. It might seem like the sort of platitude a minister is expected to offer. You might be surprised to learn, though, that it’s not always the first solution I turn to. I am capable of stuffing my heavy concerns and deep fears in the nightstand by the side of my bed until its shelves burgeon with burdens. When I can no longer overlook the problems, it eventually occurs to me that I can declutter. Finally, I pray. When I do, I am whole lot better for it. I almost always wish I would have done so sooner!

The disciplines of faith and science are not in disagreement that prayer is a particularly good way to offload stress and reclaim peace. Jesus has said, “Come to me, all you who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) How does this happen? Visualizing the brain via MRI has made it clear to researchers that, “Praying involves the deeper parts of the brain: the medial prefrontal cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex…These parts of the brain are involved in self-reflection and self-soothing.” (Dr. David Spiegel, Center for Integrative Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine)

Prayer and meditation can lower our reactivity to traumatic and negative events. They are powerful practices because they focus our thoughts on something outside of ourselves. “During times of stress, our limbic system becomes hyper-activated, which does two things: it thrusts us into survival mode where we freeze, fight, or flee the situation…and it shuts down our executive function, preventing us from thinking clearly. This is why, when we’re stressed out, we can make poor decisions and act in self-destructive ways…When we sit down and engage in prayer or meditation, we are able to shift away from this frightened and stressed survival mode into an intentional state, and ultimately reengage our prefrontal cortex.” (Dr. Paul Hokemeyer, Marriage, Family, and Addictions Therapist)

Whether starting from a faith perspective or a scientific one, we end up at the same conclusion: prayer is helpful in trying times. I encourage us all to release the unwanted, piled high, emotional baggage through prayer so that we can make more drawer space for storing useful gifts like resilience and hope.

Prayerfully,

Pastor Chris

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From the church parking lot and the safe bubble of your own vehicle, tune to 98.5 FM and listen to live worship being broadcast from inside the College Hill sanctuary! If you’d like to participate, please arrive in the parking lot no earlier than 9:30 a.m. for the 10:00 a.m. service. Follow the instructions from your Parking Attendants, and praise God from the safe bubble of your car.

Following worship, if this is of interest to you, stick around to purchase Grocery Gift Cards and support the church’s fundraising efforts. To do so, please remain in your car at the end of the service and Joe & Caroline will come to you with Giant, Weis, and Valley Farm cards. Please have your cash or checks ready.

Parking Lot Worship Services are recorded and made available for viewing on YouTube.

Virtual Fellowship Time on Zoom – Sundays at 11:30 a.m.

This casual online gathering has taken root over the last few months and become a wonderful way to keep connected. Whether you’ve become a “regular” at these gatherings, or you’re thinking about dropping by for the very first time, please take note that the Zoom link has changed and a Password is now required. Please find the new information below. I expect to use the same link each week. (I’ve learned not to make too many promises during the pandemic, though!) 

And if Zoom is new to you and you’d like to be coached on how to get started, please email me at  moravianpastorchris@gmail.com  or call me at 484-894-9077.

To join by computer, tablet or smart phone, please go to:

https://zoom.us/j/99831347702?pwd=Vk1VWDk0RkdlUXJacWtCRGEvNFpnZz09

Passcode: 789162

To join by phone (no video), dial:

+1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)

Meeting ID: 998 3134 7702  

Zoom Prayers–Sundays at 6:30 p.m.

We are also continuing to offer Zoom Prayers on Sunday evenings at 6:30. We come together to share simply in intercessory prayer on behalf of our congregation, community, and world. We usually conclude by 7:00 p.m. All are welcome! 

To join by computer, tablet, or smart phone, please go to: 

https://zoom.us/j/91961743369?pwd=S3FYVG1NSFBrb1BoaTl0dnV5ZmNFUT09

Passcode: 073131

To join by phone (no video), dial:

+1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)

  Meeting ID: 919 6174 3369 

Moravian Church Without Walls

Moravian Church Without Walls (MCWW)  is observing a 2-week summer break.