There is no way around it. Life right now and for the next several weeks will be exceedingly difficult. As we strive to stay healthy, support our families, stay calm and not lose hope, we again find ourselves physically separated as a church. To grossly understate it, the situation is not ideal.
For some of us, navigating these weeks will take every ounce of energy and waking moment. For others, it may again mean increased isolation and a lack of activity. If you find yourself in the latter category, here are a few ideas for how to help.
Letters of support – Send a note of appreciation to those on the front lines: healthcare workers, educators, service providers, and other essential workers. This can include your own physicians’ offices, your grandchildren’s or neighbor kids’ teachers (even if you don’t know them!), or the one who bags your groceries.
Check in calls – Despite perhaps having more time on our hands, it can be difficult to make the first move to reach out. Consider committing to two phone calls a week to check in on a friend, family, or church member.
Prayerful engagement – There are many ways to offer prayers. This week in worship, we’re experimenting with a new way using an online tool called “Padlet.†Anytime between now and Sunday morning, you can enter a prayer request to be shared at joys and concerns time. Prayers are anonymous although you are welcome to add your name to them. If it’s successful, we’ll try again next week.
Generosity of spirit and of wallet – Extend extra kindness to those who serve. A heartfelt verbal thank you, honest inquiry into how they are doing, or a generous tip can help counterbalance the ill treatment that many are facing from customers and patients.
As divided and separated we are, our best chance at getting through this is by doing it together. As Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once put it, we are bound together in an inescapable network of mutuality. May we seek to live into this as a blessing, even in days like these.
Pastor Jen