Bless the Lord, my soul
and bless God’s holy name.
Bless the Lord, my soul,
who leads me into life.

These words from Psalm 103 open every Sanctuary Choir rehearsal. The concerns of day melt away as we sing this refrain over and over, focusing on our reason for being, both as a choir and as people of faith.

Our song was disrupted in mid-March.

Choir people are hard core. We need to sing. We need to be together. That’s why we are committed to Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings. Like everyone, we were and are most unhappy about this!

We began to connect through Zoom, holding to our tradition of singing of Psalm 103. While we tried to encourage one another, we also needed to be authentic with one another. Singing the words, “Bless the Lord, my soul, who leads me into life” seemed incongruent to us as a choir.

We found life as we joined our voices in song. That wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. And yet, our weekly Zooms began to take shape, we open in song and we close singing the beloved blessing “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” to one another.

Early on, Nancy Reinert shared words about living in the present, not missing the gift of each moment as part of a devotional. Something shifted for us. We began to find a new depth of community with each Zoom Choir as mem-bers shared their favorite hymns, moments of laughter in their week and moments of “finding life.” One particular night as we were honestly sharing burdens, one of our newest choir members, someone new to the Christian faith, shared words she had just discovered reading the book of James,

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, be-cause you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

With each meeting there are surprises and gifts of encouragement. They come as we sing “Bless the Lord, my soul, who leads me into life” in the midst of a pandemic. It will be our special joy to welcome Grant, our new director of music, at tonight’s choir zoom. He brings amazing music gifts and a beautiful open spirit. Exciting days ahead!

I believe most of you know that Courtney, Verity, and I are expecting a new addition to our family later this month. We are looking forward to welcoming Verity’s little brother, whose due date is August 27. As Verity said in her Verity Good News segment of Some Derry Good News back in May, “We are also welcoming a new church member!”

On behalf of our family, I want to thank you for your prayers and support. We, along with many others expecting new additions to their families, did not anticipate navigating pregnancy during a pandemic. It has come with an unexpected set of challenges and losses, but it has also provided us with new opportunities and advantages. While Verity missed going to a big sister class at the hospital and attending Courtney’s appointments to see the sonogram and hear her brother’s heartbeat, I have been able to be home more during this time. We have had more time as a family to strengthen our own bonds and to prepare for the baby’s arrival.

In the weeks leading up to the birth, I plan to take vacation time so I can self-quarantine to ensure I don’t get sick, which would prevent me from being with Courtney at the hospital and to be readily available in case of an early delivery. August 16 will be my last Sunday leading worship until September 13. I’m thankful for the amazing and talented staff members who are willing and able to allow me to care for my family’s needs during this time.

Following the baby’s birth, I will be taking paternity leave. With the support of the Personnel Committee, I will be working half days rather than taking 6 weeks of full-time leave. This will allow me more time at home to help care for Courtney, Verity, and the baby, and it will also allow me to maintain momentum on essential church work. I will still help lead most Sunday worship services, attend virtual meetings, make pastoral calls, and do other planning and work that needs to get done.

I’ve been hard at work this summer writing sermons, morning meditations, and Sunday school lessons, and planning other activities through Christmas. I will still check email daily, so if you have questions or needs, feel free to contact me.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers and thank you for allowing me time to be with my family during this transition. I am grateful both Verity and her little brother will grow up in a loving and supportive church community that they know cares for them.

Editor’s Note: On the first Thursday of each month (or close to it), the eNews feature article highlights the mission focus for the month. In August we’re lifting up Education of Children. You can always find the  current month’s mission focus in the Joys & Concerns section of the weekly eNews.

Liz Barna and her family are frequent Derry Church worshippers. Last year, Derry decided to sponsor the building of a new second grade classroom at Logos Academy with a financial gift of $10,000. This summer the Mission Committee helped construct and paint the classroom.

---

Terry is tall. She towers above me even when we are sitting in chairs across from one another at the office table. She wears her red GIANT grocery store work polo, where she works the night shift in the bakery. Terry is known for her quiet and gentle way. Exhaustion radiates from her and I can tell she is worried as we sit to discuss her first grade son’s performance in school. It’s not good. Antoine struggles in every subject and his attention span is short, leading to disruptive behavior and repeatedly getting out of his desk. His sickle cell anemia leaves him fatigued and thirsty throughout the school day.

This was before the novel Coronavirus pandemic. As we worked hard to provide excellent distance learning and the technology, including laptops for many of our families, I worried that this was not going to be enough for families like Terry and Antoine. Unfortunately, my fears were proven to be true. Antoine completed almost no work online for the remaining 11 weeks of school. Terry simply did not have the capacity to work the night shift and teach her child. There was very little support around her to make this happen. Like many parents living through this challenging time, she suffered depression and felt hopeless.

Antoine is not alone. Only 65% of our student population was able to complete online learning. Many completed very few assignments. Those parents lucky enough to work are often solo-parenting and return home at 7:00 or 8:00 pm only to be faced with multiple children’s full day of online assignments to oversee.

We at Logos are determined to offer a high-quality, yet safe learning environment this fall and our families are desperate for that support. Many of our families have family members who have had or have died of Covid-19, yet they do not have the economic resources to be able to stay home with their children. Logos Academy is proud to partner with these families by offering an excellent education in a safe environment.

At Logos Academy, we  are actively preparing for the return to school by implementing Covid-19 protocols set forth by the CDC and the Department of Education, such as air-filtration systems, cleaning protocols and staff training. Most importantly, we strongly believe that in-person education is crucial to a young child’s emotional development, especially for children like Antoine. It is essential that we support these families.