Restoration Blog

Dear church family, As many of you know, Governor Inslee issued a statewide mandate requiring facial coverings in public, which is set to take effect on Friday, June 27th. The statewide mandate requires people over the age of 5 to wear face coverings generally while they are in any indoor or outdoor public space. Masks will not be required outdoors when people can stay more than 6 feet apart from each other, while indoors at home with others, or while alone in a vehicle. Unlike previous requirements, there appears to be no discrepancies between the application of this mandate for businesses and churches.

We are 10 days into Phase 2. Some churches have not decided to meet yet. Some of the churches who have begun to gather are following very few recommendations, many are following most, and several are following none of them in accord with their respective consciences. Our elders are taking a measured approach, evaluating each week and seeking to discern what is right, wise, and safe. We do not expect every church nor Christian to agree in this regard; but we do expect everyone to exercise the kind of forbearance--for the purpose of love and unity--that Paul details in Romans 14 as we each make decisions.

There are always two ditches on the sides of every road. These ditches usually represent extremes we want to avoid but, on occasion, find ourselves stuck in. There are all kinds of roads with their different ditches: religion and irreligion, self-indulgence and self-righteousness, or even "blow-anger" and "no-anger", etc. Our hope is to navigate the tension of the middle, whether it is walking the line of the gospel, self-denial, or "slow- anger" just as Jesus did.

It goes without saying that our world is broken and full of injustice. As leaders in our homes and pastors in this church, we work hard discern what injustices to address, when to address them, and even how. Rather than hastily post our reactions on social media, as our world is prone to do, we feel it is important to be slow and deliberate in our responses so as to be helpful to those in our care.