News that the Church of Great Rain may remake itself — or even go away altogether — is sobering for those of us who have come to love this sardonic, off-kilter, homegrown variety show.

It’s understandable that people working hard and for no pay would experience some degree of burn-out. It’s also understandable that all those creative souls, mixed up together in a high-stress situation month after month, would have disagreements.

That said, we hope they can work out their differences, find a sustainable model and return to the stage sometime during the 2012-13 season.

Church, as the group likes to call itself, offers something lovely on an island that takes itself far too seriously. It holds up a mirror, points out our foibles and gets us to laugh at ourselves. The Beachcomber has been an occasional target, as have many other fine Vashon institutions, from the community council to the Vashon Community Scholarship Foundation to Vashon Allied Arts.

But the jabs are gentle. What’s more, they’re often dead-on. Who can’t laugh at their parodies of our earth-loving, health-obsessed, anti-bridge, art-crazed, septic-challenged take on life?

So those of you have poured countless hours into bringing Church to the stage, we urge you to do what you must to recharge your batteries and reclaim your spiritual bearings. Breathe in the clean Island air. Ride a ferry. Kill some garden slugs. Kick back with a Fupp’s. And come back renewed, refreshed and equipped with a model that you find sustainable.

We need to laugh at ourselves on Vashon. And the church you’ve created — with Rev. Hunter Davis’ impromptu homilies, the talented Church House band and your actors’ irreverent take on Vashon life — has shown us the way. Please, don’t let your flock down. We’d be lost without you.