And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you.—1 Peter 5:10 (NRSV)
We are living in times that test our spirits, patience, and energy. Nothing in ministerial training has prepared leaders for the unique challenges we are currently facing in the midst of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19. Although some of us and those we serve may remember polio epidemics of the 1940’s and 50’s, most of us have no true frame of reference through which we can view current realities. Following hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, and other natural disasters, parts of the country have had to pause, rebuild, and restore buildings and a sense of normalcy. Surrounding communities, less directly affected, have offered help. Likewise, following acts of violence and terror, people have stood by one another, offering monetary help, physical labor, and the tenderness of touch. Following 9/11, many in our nation drew together for comfort, support, and strength. Some people may remember needs and responses following the Great Depression. None of those past experiences have adequately prepared us for a pandemic where we all suffer and need to resist an impulse to physically stand together. Our work and our faith are deeply relational, and physical distancing and isolation challenges our natural impulses to reach out to hold another’s hand or share comfort through a hug. It is hard to accept that this is a time to refrain from embracing (Eccl. 3:5b), even as we affirm that this is one of the ways we show love and care for the vulnerable right now. A recent article by Scott Berinato in Harvard Business Review (“That Discomfort You’re Feeling is Grief”) includes an interview with David Kessler, co-author with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and renowned expert on grief. He names that we are feeling individual and collective grief.
Kübler-Ross’ stages of grief include denial, anger, bargaining, sadness, and acceptance. We each have been and are cycling through these stages, trying to make sense of this temporary but bewildering reality. As worship services move from in-house to online, pastors and judicatory leaders are working to learn or maximize available technology for meetings, pastoral care, and ongoing connection. Rituals and ordinances, from communion to weddings and funerals, look different from just a few weeks ago. As the number of people diagnosed with COVID-19 increases, many of us do or will know someone who is affected. We are daily reminded of our vulnerabilities. We don’t know how long these changes to routine will last or how this time will create lasting changes. There are far more questions about what to do and how to be than answers. The waiting, adjustments to schedules, and rapidly changing plans based on updated information is wearying. Leaders are accustomed to being tired as we get closer to Easter, but this is a different kind of exhaustion. We hold in our hearts the promise of resurrection, but we are facing the reality that a communal celebration may have to wait.
And yet we remain a people of hope. As we listen for updates and wisdom from medical experts, we continue to find strength through faith. While working to understand what is happening and learning new ways to connect to communities, Kessler includes a sixth stage of grief – finding meaning. It is and always has been the work of religious leaders to help find meaning through challenging times. In times of natural disaster and following acts of terror and violence, people of faith have looked to scripture and the promises of God to bring healing and direction. In this time of pandemic, it is faith in God’s love that keeps us from panicking or becoming paralyzed by fear. Instead of retreating into protective shells, we strive to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, who cared for the vulnerable, the outcasts, and the voiceless. In remembering Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:31-46, we are especially mindful of the hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick, and imprisoned people who cry for care. We pray for health care workers and other staff in clinics, hospitals, and other places where people are vulnerable and feel isolated. We honor the ones who are most at risk, including older populations, remembering the words of the psalmist: “you are my hope, Lord. You, Lord, are the one I’ve trusted since childhood…. Don’t cast me off in old age. Don’t abandon me when my strength is used up!” (Psalm 71:5,9). In this time of pandemic challenges, we are called to draw upon all the resources of faith and the strength of the Spirit to guide us in wisdom and courage.
We are also called to action. But first and foremost, we must avoid basing our responses on fear. As a nation, we are called to root ourselves in “a commitment to democracy and a deep sense of collective empathy”[1] that can enable our communities to flourish, even during this unprecedented crisis. As people of faith, we are compelled to join in with and support this commitment. As we face the prospect of unpredictable levels of illness, death, and economic disruption, we as the faith community can be instrumental in helping to prevent some of the worst outcomes by engaging in loving, responsible, and compassionate responses. We are called to extend our loving response unconditionally, first to ourselves, so that we may extend it safely to our neighbors—all neighbors, without exception—especially those who are most vulnerable.
We offer some ideas that may be helpful to you as you work to navigate this difficult time—approaches that may help in extending love to neighbor and maintaining commitment to our congregations, communities, the greater society, and our democracy. You can find this information in an attachment to this statement.
To all that read this—know that the God we worship and praise loves us unconditionally. And remember the words of Julian of Norwich: “All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.” Trust and know that together, we can survive and grow stronger, striving to live into the world that God desires for all of us.
The Rev. Elizabeth Bidgood Enders, President The Rev. Sandra L. Strauss
Board of Directors, Pennsylvania Council of Churches Director of Advocacy and Ecumenical Outreach
March 27, 2020
Practical and Loving Actions We Can Take as People of Faith
As a communal people who have been conditioned to express love in physical community, we need to recognize that community and our expressions of love need to be expressed in new and different ways. When we speak of love in the context of our faith communities, we speak of unselfish, agape love. This is the kind of love that God offers us, and agape love is reflected in those who dedicate their lives to helping others for the good of humanity. This is the kind of love that we can express, even in this time of crisis—and it does not require direct physical contact.
While we’ve been bombarded with a message of “social distancing,” this doesn’t mean social isolation. What it does mean is that agape love requires us to step back from our face-to-face and physical expressions of love to protect our most vulnerable neighbors—seniors, those with chronic conditions, compromised immune systems, those who feel trapped in abusive relationships, those suffering from addiction, and the like. However, it does not mean cutting off contact, but finding new and creative ways to make contact. Unlike the time of the 1918 pandemic, we have the technology that permits us to connect—face-to-face by virtual means (through mediums like Zoom, Skype, and Facebook Live); by voice (telephone and online); and in written form (e-mails, Facebook, Instagram, etc.). Where there are those who don’t have access, we can work through our networks to help provide the tools needed to make such contacts possible. We need to take special care to acknowledge and connect with those who are most isolated, like seniors and those in prisons and jails.
And even as we practice social distancing, we can engage through our local and congregational communities in efforts to care for one another and meet basic human needs. The possibilities for this are only limited by our ability to imagine! Perhaps the easiest thing we can do is to share information—the Pennsylvania Council of Churches has been striving to do this through a compilation of resources on its website at https://www.pachurches.org/covid-19-coronavirus-resources/. Congregations can do the same by sharing local resources. Of course, we can continue to reiterate the most important information aimed at limiting the spread of the virus—staying home to the extent possible, careful hand-washing and other personal hygiene, and keeping our distance when we must enter the public realm (grocery shopping, picking up prescriptions, etc.). But in terms of actions of a more spiritual nature, we can share pastoral messages with our neighbors and our congregations via electronic means. Many congregations are now offering worship via streaming platforms (some resources for doing this are included at the link above). We can share other online resources that may offer solace and inspiration.
We can also engage in mission via direct assistance and sharing of resources that help to address the needs of family, friends, and neighbors in this time of crisis. Some of our most vulnerable neighbors are not able to get out even for their most basic needs such as food and prescription medications, and those of us who are able-bodied and healthy can help them by making grocery store and pharmacy runs. We can be involved with helping to find creative community solutions for households who need help as schools and day care centers close. We can do things like volunteer to put together “survival kits” and deliver them to those who are closed in. We can contribute financially to support these services when we aren’t able to do so directly.
In this time of crisis, however, we are called to do more. This is a time when no one is immune from the advance of COVID-19, and so we must ensure that everything possible is done to protect it from spreading unabated. We must ensure that those who serve on the front lines—from health care workers to first responders to grocery and pharmacy store workers—are protected from exposure to the virus to the greatest extent possible by advocating for the provision of adequate testing and protective equipment. We must ensure that uninsured and undocumented persons have access to testing and treatment so that they can be isolated and cared for in order to avoid further spread of the virus. And for those who are unable to work and are losing wages, we must ensure that they are protected from complete financial devastation. Charity alone will not ensure this—but we can advocate for policies that help to protect these vulnerable workers by providing financial support, temporary relief from debts like mortgages and student loans, and protection from utility shutoffs, foreclosures and evictions. All of this means advocating with our elected and appointed officials to ensure that these needs are addressed to the greatest extent possible.
We are called also to do our civic duty in terms of two important activities underway right now: the 2020 decennial Census, and the 2020 elections. Regarding the Census, we have a responsibility to participate as individuals and families, and to urge our congregations and neighbors to do so as well. The Census count affects the level of federal support to each state (Pennsylvania loses approximately $2,000/person each year for each person not counted), as well as the number of Congressional representatives. As for the election, we are called to study the candidates at every level—from the presidency to our Congressional representatives to local officials—and to cast our votes responsibly. This year, we in Pennsylvania may now cast our votes by mail—learn how to do this at https://www.votespa.com/Voting-in-PA/Pages/Mail-and-Absentee-Ballot.aspx.
Finally, as we engage with our government officials and candidates, we must join as people of faith to hold them up in prayer—praying for their health and welfare, but also for wise and compassionate decisions that ensure the welfare of all inhabitants of our state and our nation.
[1] With thanks for Paul Engler of Waging Nonviolence, https://truthout.org/articles/coronavirus-is-a-historic-trigger-event-we-need-a-massive-movement-in-response/.
