We’re going to have a picnic today. The weather is looking good. The food has been planned. Games and activities are arranged. Invitations have been sent. A bluegrass group is set to provide music. We’ve even had a discussion about what we’re going to wear.

Picnics aren’t all that unusual for us. We usually take our lunch to work and sometimes we take our lunch outdoors. Sometimes we eat in a park. In fact, we’ve had a picnic lunch in the park where today’s picnic is set. There is, however, something different about this particular picnic. The whole church has been invited to this picnic. It is part of our Gathering In Sunday activities. Gathering In Sunday is what we called Kick Off Sunday when we lived in South Dakota. It is a special day of activities and events planned to start the fall programming. The traditional Sunday for these events would have been last week, but we delayed for a week in this church this year because of the funeral of a beloved member a week ago.

As I think about the picnic and my excitement about it, there is a dynamic that surprises me. It has been two years since we moved ti Washington. It has been two years since we became involved in this congregation. This is the first all-church meal that we have attended.

In the old days, when we were pastors, our first Sunday in a new congregation was met with a potluck lunch. Eating together was part of the life of the congregations we served. Covid changed all of that. And the pandemic is not over. Our congregation still is not allowing any food service inside the building except for small group gatherings. After worship on Sundays, there is a sort of coffee hour, but people are directed to go past the kitchen when they pick up their coffee, out the door, and are invited to drink their beverages in an outdoor courtyard. Inside the building everyone wears masks unless the group is less than ten people and everyone has agreed to allowing masks to be removed.

From my point of view the picnic is a big deal.

Of course there are plenty of reports of picnics of different sorts in the Bible. Jesus fed thousands with small amounts of food. Crowds following Jesus had to gather outside. They didn’t have access to an indoor place for their meetings. Jesus spoke in Synagogues, but when crowds gathered, meetings had to be outdoors.

I’m a relative newcomer to this congregation. I can’t predict how people will respond to the invitation to come to the picnic. I’ve never been good at predicting numbers for group dinners. In South Dakota, I had a standard joke about the number of people who might attend a funeral lunch. When asked, I’d say, “I think there will be between 10 and 200 people.” Of course, I was usually right with that range, but my numbers were of no help to those who were planning the food. I made the same prediction to the folks who are preparing the food for today’s picnic. I just don’t know how many people to predict.

Our church continues to worship in a hybrid format. We have a congregation that gathers in our sanctuary for worship and we have a number of people who participate online. We call our online worshipping community our “bigger balcony.” When we lead worship, we plan for how our presence will come over for those watching on televisions and computers at home. Since my part is usually the time with children, I think about visual props and other things I can do to make our time interesting to children who are watching from home. As a result, there are members of the congregation who recognize me and know my name from watching online worship. I don’t know those people however. It always is a bit strange to be greeting someone when they know my name and I don’t have a clue who they are. I find myself trying to guide an introduction, without really needing to introduce myself.

I’m hoping that a picnic, in an outdoor setting, with plenty of room and fresh air, might invite a few of the folks who participate from home to come and enjoy an in-person event. I know that it won’t be many people, but it would be nice if a few come.

My entire career - my whole life in the church - has been based on in person events. Our tradition of going to church has always involved going, even when the distance was close. When I was living in my parents’ home we always walked to church. And for years, we left our house as a family and walked together. It was just two blocks. In North Dakota we lived in a parsonage next door to the church, but we also served a second congregation, so our Sundays began with a 17-mile drive to our first service before we returned home for the second one. Going to be with other people in a face-to-face setting is the way I think about church.

I know that online worship is here to stay. I know that our congregations will continue to reach out on social media to a wider community. However, I’m most comfortable with what we do when we are together in the same place. I always feel a bit awkward addressing a camera even though I know there are real people who are watching.

The big Sunday School picnics of my life were held in the spring, often at the end of the church school year. It seems a bit backwards to be starting with a picnic in the fall, but doing new things is just fine with me. I’m ready for a good picnic regardless of the time of the year. I hope we have another in the spring. Today I’m celebrating the fact that I have the opportunity to be a part of a group of people, living in community, sharing a simple meal, and making connections.