I am Palmer is a series of articles written by parishioners at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church about their experiences in the time of COVID-19. In this series, we are hearing from medical professionals, educators, students, public health experts, parents of school-age children and others who are finding ways to cope and thrive in our challenging times.

I am a member of Grace Lutheran Church ELCA in Tomahawk, Wisconsin, and you may be surprised to learn I am with you every Sunday for worship at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church.

COVID-19 became real for me in March when I returned home after a few weeks in Hawaii visiting my sister-in-law. The first question my sister asked when she picked me up at the airport was, “Do you have enough toilet paper?” What an odd question! Everything was shutting down due to the virus, even my church.

I thought it would be okay since Grace Lutheran had gone to live streaming on Sundays, but it turned out the church service was modified to be only 20 minutes long with a sermon, scripture and prayer, all done by the Pastor. It really didn’t seem complete for me. So during the next few weeks I tuned into a variety of mainline Protestant church services on TV, the radio and internet. Sadly, most were “mini” services without music and Holy Communion, and they all lacked parts of the Liturgy.

Palmer came to mind because on Saturday, May 18, 2019 I attended the memorial service there for my friend Pamela Massey. I thought a church like Palmer might have some type of broadcasted worship service and I did a quick Google search where I found a link to Sunday worship on YouTube and Facebook. The service was exactly what I was looking for. The music was exceptional, the Eucharist was included and the flow of the Liturgy made me feel like I was attending church in person. From the first time I tuned in, I have been “attending” church with you. And then with the suggestion of Michael Massey, I began to zoom into Liz Parker’s Bible Study on Tuesday afternoons.

The Pandemic has turned out to have some positives for me! I feel blessed to have Palmer as my second church family despite being a thousand miles away in northern Wisconsin. I hope to come to Houston again when it is safe to travel. Until then I will be with you on Sunday mornings and Tuesday afternoons.