By Betsy Hall, Pastor of Care & Spiritual Formation

It is easy to get the impression, if not the direct message, that we should be able to handle things all on our own. It's a variation of pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps, being the rugged individual, the whole “I don’t need anyone." That all sounds good except that’s not what Jesus modeled.

If we've learned anything in the past 12 weeks it's how important our church family is. We need each other! I've thought a lot about Jesus’ followers, the twelve disciples, the three closest friends, and the early Christians in the book of Acts. As the church was growing they needed the support of each other. Did they get on each other's nerves? Sure. Did they argue or have hard conversations? Yes. That young church also needed each other, sometimes for survival.

In the New Testament the church is often referred to as the "body of Christ." We used to see our body of Christ each week when we came to the building. But it's been a while. It’s been hard. We miss seeing each other.

A couple weeks ago, Providence Kids had a kick-off drive-thru event for Virtual Bible Summer (VBS). I’m not sure who needed it more: the kids, their parents, or the church staff! Last Friday we had our first ever drive-in worship. We need each other.

What makes us "us"? It’s Jesus. Jesus Christ makes us us. We used to remind ourselves physically of that fact every Sunday through the sacrament of Holy Communion. We are now at a time in history where we can’t meet as we used to out of love for those who are vulnerable. We hate it, but we know that's what love does. Love is hard sometimes.

Sometimes the load is too heavy to carry alone. We need particular people in the body of Christ whose gifts of listening and discernment can help us.

If you find you are in that place, let me encourage you to reach out for counseling or spiritual direction. We were never supposed to be complete in ourselves. We need God, we need each other, we need the body of Christ.

If you are in need of help, please reach out to us:

Allison Vines, Director of Care
Betsy Hall, Pastor of Care & Spiritual Formation

You may also contact the church office Monday - Thursday, 8:00 am - 4:00 pm at 615.773.7862.