Worth the Wait for Our Kids

For twenty-one kids and their families, First Communion was supposed to happen in the spring. And then COVID hit. It was rescheduled for a lakeside service this summer, but Cedar Lake canceled all group activities. Holy Trinity polled the families and decided on a Drive-In First Communion in the parking lot on Sunday, October 11.

 

“These families were determined to have First Communion,” Pastor Ben tells me. “In a collective Zoom meeting, we asked them, ‘If it rains, do we still do it?’ They all said, ‘You bet!’ I was prepared to be standing outside under an umbrella by myself, with Rita playing music from inside if we needed to!”

Sunday, October 11 was the second outdoor Drive-in Communion service for Holy Trinity, this time combined with First Communion. There was considerably less sneezing for Pastor Ben (Click HERE to see that video), and more bread and wine involved.

 

“I’m excited!” Kate Kienow told me before the service. “I was skeptical about the meaningfulness of the first one, but some friends really recommended them! It made me feel so excited about this.” Her son Aydan was one of the communicants.

“This was beautiful! A really nice Plan B,” says mother Christie Will who celebrated daughter Parker’s day by baking the communion bread using Hospitality Coordinator Donna Galvin’s recipe. (Click HERE for the recipe and Donna’s tutorial.) “I loved making the bread,” says Parker, smiling.

 

“We did what we could to make it special,” says mom Jamie Sticha. “We dressed up. We made bread.”

“Our bread turned out kinda gross.” Nolan Sticha mutters quietly, probably hoping I didn’t hear him. (Sorry, Nolan. It was funny.)

 

“I know this is certainly not what anyone expected when they thought about what their Child’s First Communion would be like,” Children, Youth and Family Director Casey Fremstad says, “but I know the Lord is present today and will continue to be present in the lives of these families. It is a great day to witness so much beauty at work in all of the chaos.”

“It’s weird,” admits first communicant Levin Wong. His father, Jamie Wong, smiles at him. “We’re glad to be back, even if it is weird,” he admits.

“It’s nice to be able to run around!” says another first communicant, Garrett Balk. His mother, Carrie Balk, agrees. “This is memorable. We won’t forget it, that’s for sure!” She says laughing as she runs after him.

 

For many HTLC members and guests, this was the first time they had been at the church in over 6 months. Pastor Ben’s sermon spoke of potentially having a range of feelings by being “in church” for the first time in a while. Some admitted that was exactly how they felt.

“I’m really emotional,” says Council President Karla Klingfus as she gestures to her husband, Tom. “He was hoping for another Communion service for a while, but I didn’t know how much I missed Communion until now. This is even better than I expected.” Her voice catches as Worship Leader Rita Sapp begins to play.

 

“What our church has done [with the online services] is amazing, but we miss this,” Tonya Jacobson says tearfully, gesturing to the twenty cars full of Holy Trinity members and guests. “It’s great that we can watch online, but it’s nice to come here. It’s not just a place. It’s everybody. And we miss it.”

 
 

On behalf of the entire Holy Trinity team, WE MISS YOU ALL, TOO!

 

 

Go in Peace.

 

Serve the Lord.

 

Thanks be to God.

 

For all First Communion Family photos, please CLICK HERE.

 
 
Written by Rose M. Fife, HTLC Communications Specialist
October 15, 2020

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