It is that time again, when we set our clocks ahead 1 hour at 1 am (Sunday, March 8, 2020), or if you are one of those difficult people with an iphone – your phone does it for you and you are none the wiser.
I spent 8 years in Flagstaff, Arizona, arriving in 1997. Those years were filled with long mountain vistas, monsoon rains for Labor Day and – Perpetual Standard Time. No one has to worry about setting their clocks up or down or sideways (of course, that’s not true on the Navajo reservation which spans Arizona and New Mexico, but I am not responsible for that!).
My years on Perpetual Standard Time were blissful in many ways. Of course, in the summer, the sun creeps up earlier and earlier (yes 5 am is the norm in mid summer), and so the public services – mayors office, public works, etc., would open earlier in the day in the summer so people could get their work done early! (We were up early, why not get everything done early?)
Then, I attended seminary in Berkeley, California, and was part of a program where I spent 10 hours a week working at a church (for free) to get experience. And one spring Sunday morning, I went into the bathroom to find that I had it to myself! All the others had already started driving to their churches! Because it was an hour later than it was supposed to be! The curse of the Daylight Savings Time had found me. I made it to church that morning just in time and I’m pretty sure no one noticed I hadn’t showered, or that my hair was less than stellar. And so, every year when Daylight Savings comes around, I shudder a bit. Which way is it? Is it less sleep or more sleep? Clearly, 8 years in Flagstaff ruined me for life.
And so we come to this Sunday. I am pretty sure I know what’s happening. We ‘spring forward’ for some ungodly reason, and I will deliver a sermon on an hour less sleep than I am used to having. God bless us all. God bless Daylight Savings Time. See you at Holy Cross Lutheran – 1998 Lansing Ave Ne, Salem, OR 97301
Pastor Patricia+