By Emily Pirozzolo
I cannot express how amazing it is to be back in person with all of the Capital Fellows. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we spent three weeks together virtually from across the country. While it’s phenomenal that technology like Zoom provided us a way to continue the program virtually, nothing compares to being in-person with the people you love.
After a long five weeks apart, I found myself at a retreat center in rural Maryland with all of the fellows. When I scanned the room and took it all in, when I truly saw and conversed with the fellows face-to-face (albeit, with masks), I experienced a giddy and ecstatic feeling that cannot be described in words. I thought to myself, “Here are the people I’ve come to know and love, and they aren’t inside of 2-dimensional glowing boxes anymore! They are whole human beings with bodies, and they are moving through the same physical space as me!”
How can technology be such a good thing yet so insufficient all at the same time? It’s amazing that you can seemingly be face-to-face on screens, yet you ultimately leave unsatisfied, knowing deep down there is something missing from the connection. Being in-person feels different. You are truly with people. No Wi-Fi-connectivity issues that make faces hazy and grainy, no choppy audio. Things are clear, definite, and sure. There’s an intense energy that permeates the shared space. Being with other human beings in the same room is palpable. And It’s joyous.
The end to coronavirus and the end to a socially distanced world is something that everyone is anticipating with great expectation. While there is joy in the virtual, it can’t compare to the physical. This got me thinking of an analogy: What if our present, earthly realities and our in-person connections are actually like Zoom compared to what will be in eternity?
I would argue that this life as we know it is a Zoom reality compared to eternity. Zoom taints the joys of conversation and relationship with lagging internet, the impossible nature of breakout rooms, and the mute and unmute button. Likewise, this world is tainted with sin and brokenness that affects our relationships with each other and, most devastatingly, our relationship with God. Life is hazy, pixelated, and grainy. Eternity, on the other hand, might be similar to that feeling you get from physical, in-person experiences after a long time of only Zoom interactions, but it will be infinitely better.
In eternity, we will not only have perfect relationships with each other, but we will also finally be with our heavenly Father, truly with him. We will be able to be face-to-face. Our relationship with Him will be completely restored. And I can’t even imagine what type of joy that will bring!
This makes Jesus’s work on the cross so much more amazing, because we get a glimpse of what eternity will feel like. Jesus, who has already defeated death, who acts as our great Mediator, has torn the veil in two (Matt. 27:50-51). We can approach God’s throne with all things because of Jesus’s righteousness.
We live in an already and not yet reality. In Jesus, it is finished, yet we still long for the restoration of all things. Until Jesus comes again, we can continue to delight in the physical presence of others. And until we can be in-person without masks, we can delight in Zoom calls, too.
Pictures from the Week
An intense game of Bananagrams at the retreat, thanks to Rachel’s DOUBLE SET of Bananagrams.
Some of the fellows hiking on the retreat. Jenny is a great kicker!!
Jenny’s strategy to stay warm during our freezing game of ultimate frisbee. We played the Falls Church Fellows! It was great fun.
Become A Capital Fellow in 2021-22
We are now receiving applications for Season 15 of the Capital Fellows program!
The next program year runs from late August 2021 through mid-May 2022. If you are a college senior or recent college graduate - or know someone that is - we would love to hear from you! The Winter Application Deadline is January 15!
Want to learn more before you apply? Join an upcoming informational webinar. Click here for dates and times.
Pray for the Capital Fellows
Thank you for praying for the Capital Fellows each week!
The Capital Fellows are back in full swing - class, Cornerstone, peer groups, Life and Leadership. And, of course, the fellows are increasingly busy with their job search. This week, the fellows started meeting with members of the Capital Pres Family who will be helping help them make job connections in the city. Please pray for the fellows - that God would provide jobs for them even in this COVID-impacted job market. Please pray for those that will be meeting with fellows in the coming weeks - that they would be blessed by this experience of sharing their personal and professional networks.
Want to pray for the Capital Fellows throughout the year? Download this handy prayer guide for your phone or tablet.
Benefits of The Fellows Initiative
You probably already know that Capital Fellows is one of 30 fellows programs in The Fellows Initiative network. But, did you know that the sponsors of TFI offer great benefits to Capital Fellows alumni? For example, Reformed Theological Seminary offers a 33% tuition discount for 5 years. You can learn more about TFI's sponsors by clicking here. TFI is also sponsored by The Budd Group, the Gordon College Master of Financial Analysis Program, and Regent College in Vancouver.
If you know of a graduate school, seminary, employer, or other organization that would be interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact TFI by clicking here. Thanks!
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