Snowbound Church Service

We missed all the snow drama of the past two weeks, arriving back on Orcas Island late last night to a light covering on the ground at our house. We got word that school was called off for the past week, as well as almost all activities on the island.

I can’t believe we missed the biggest snow event since moving here. I almost can’t even imagine what it was like. We left the island three weeks ago, when everything was spring-like and surprisingly sunny. Up to that point it had been the warmest, mildest winter we had experienced. I guess that all changed in a hurry!

This morning’s church service was even reworked into an audio experience since a lot of people are still unable to drive away from their socked-in houses. We awakened this morning and cozied into the kids’ beds for the uniqueness of a distant yet communal church experience. Kind of cool to think about all the people out along their snow-packed roads, cozying around their fires, listening together to this. Good job to our pastor for making this happen, and to all the people he folded into it to give it depth and dimension – just like a real service (Dick and Kathy Staub straight from their snowed-in house; Tim Meaney, recovering from hand surgery, singing accompanied by his son, Jake, playing guitar; Ryan Carpenter with prayer requests and praises; Jon Hane reading an excerpt from a book; Phil Carter, Stephanie Moss, Justin Derr, and Meredith Griffith reading the four chapters of Jonah; Brian Moss with a short message on all of it; and a short online interview of David and Julie Pederson, our missionaries who run a school and orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya.) I so enjoyed it and thought some of you might too. Here it is.

Photo by Tricia Cunningham