Pastor Mike McNichols considers the question: How might we experience God as present to us even in a time of multiple disruptions? As we at The Vine find ourselves in an “in between” time of transition from one pastor to another, disorientation is multiplied by COVID19-restricted gathering and raging fires across the West. How can we learn from the disciples of Jesus who faced similar feelings of disappointment and distress (Luke 24)?

Mike references the 1931 Hawke’s Bay Earthquake (magnitude 7.8) which leveled hills and raised others, leaving survivors disoriented by their changed landscape. Just as survivors relied on a compass to navigate their changed world, so we can orient ourselves around Jesus, our True North. As we do this together, we can experience Christ present to us in this time of multiple disruptions and transition.