Disciples, Apostles, and Saints!
I was watching the weather reports from Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, just west of Asheville. It was in the fifties through the weekend, hitting sixty on Monday before dipping into a chilly New Year’s night for us. Light snow fell, making the tight roads in Asheville more menacing to think about than to traverse.
I’m loathe to cancel services. I fondly remember one Sunday, sliding down 7th most of the way to the church, preparing for the 8:00, and having one person show up. I asked if they wanted to do the service together and we chose to talk instead, preparing for the 10:00. By then, the roads had cleared and the sun started to do its thing, and we had a modest turn out.
Since I wasn’t in town yet—I’d be driving home Saturday evening—I wasn’t going to be watching it closely. I asked our wardens to make the call, saying that I would be prepared for any of it.
What I said to them was that 95% of the time, I assume we have the service and just tell people not to show up. It seems funny to think about—discouraging people from coming to church—but the point is to minimize the danger while supporting the ones who do show up. In the end, this storm was in that 5% of cases in which expecting anyone to drive is a bad call.
I don’t expect us to have this happen again for awhile. But if it does, know that we consider your safety to be more important than your attendance. So don’t drive when you shouldn’t.
With love,
Drew