“Their” problem becomes our problem too
Stay-at-home order comes to Dexter
During the first week of April the coronavirus epidemic became very real to me and to our community. The Stoddard County Health Department confirmed several cases in Dexter. People in our church were directly affected in a variety of ways. What was “out there” for so long, is now right here in our own backyard. We are all adapting and attempting to care for each other in the best way we know how, but the reality is that life is not going to be the same for quite some time.
On Sunday, March 29, we were able to live stream from the sanctuary one last time before the county-wide stay at home order was issued. The team who helped lead worship did a phenomenal job. The technology held together and the musicians did a great job with the music. The special music was just what I needed to hear at that moment. In a strange way, the little apocalypse text from Mark 13 worked to show that things have always been rough, and that Jesus is going to be with us through it all.
Like all things, unfortunately, it was not perfect. There were some people who were unable to get to the Facebook Live page. Internet bandwidth is being overtaxed all around the world, and our congregation was caught up in that. Hopefully we can figure out ways to work around that as we get some more online experience.
After worship was over Lily and I came back home and simply collapsed. Because we are still learning the process, the truth of the matter is that online worship involves much more preparation and coordination than the face to face variety. After a much needed nap Lily and I got outside and worked in the yard before finishing off the day with a campfire in the backyard.
Remembering not to worry
Monday morning’s devotional began with a Scripture I definitely needed to hear:
“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
– Matthew 6:34 (NRSV)
Without a doubt, this is proving to be the hardest part of ministry in the coronavirus era for me. It is so hard to remember that there is nothing I can do to fix tomorrow. Every day has brought with it a new change and a new problem. Every time that I think we have a plan lined up, something changes and we are forced to revisit what is going on. Whenever we start to get into a rhythm with worship and church activities, something new comes along.
This week’s announcement of a county-wide stay at home order meant that all of our carefully constructed plans for Holy Week had to be completely rewritten. It was no longer possible for a skeleton crew of tech people and musicians to film the worship services in the sanctuary. All live streaming has to happen from home, as does all church office work. Unfortunately, some churches have been somewhat cavalier about these recommendations, but our church has been trying to follow the latest health guidelines as closely as possible. Not only is visitation off the table, we are now going to be doing everything remotely for the forseeable future.
Quite frankly, this is not the way that I want to live. It is not the way I want to do ministry. It is also challenging me to use skills that I am simply not good at. One of my strengths is face to face ministry. Online work has never been my skill set. I have learned more about technology in the last two weeks than I thought possible. This kind of disruption is going to forever change things in ways that I cannot yet even begin to imagine. While some good things will come out of this, I will admit that I am always going to miss the way the church functioned even just a couple of weeks ago.
For example, some of these changes are things that should have happened a long time ago, but we could choose to put off while staying squarely inside our comfort zone. We should have spent more time getting ourselves online and developing a virtual presence. We should have been more connected electronically in terms of distance meeting and electronic giving. All of this has been recommended for years, but frankly there were always more pressing things to do.
Relearning the art of gratitude
One of the welcome changes that has already occurred is that in the last few weeks our worship service has begun to connect with people around the world. We are now able to bring the entire planet into our congregation on a Sunday morning. Members of the congregation who have moved away are now able to spend a little bit of time with us. The Zoom group is proving to be incredibly life giving to me and other members of the church. Additionally, the isolation has been the perfect excuse to reach out to people I have not had an opportunity to talk to in years.
For all of these things, I give thanks. I only wish that it had not taken a virus to nudge me outside of my comfort zone. Now I need to find the strength to continue to make the kinds of changes that this epidemic is going to require. The plans that I make today are not going to fit tomorrow. We are going to have to continue to press forward and to be flexible. This is going to be interesting and Jesus is absolutely right. Today’s worries are enough for today.
As promising as this brave new world is, the fact of the matter is that for me online ministry continues to be a double edged sword. Working from home is proving to be far more challenging than I would like to admit. Primarily it is because I am trying to learn new technology while at the same time trying to put that technology to use. I wish that I could have learned all of this before I needed to run with it.
Reflecting on resiliency
Part of this week was also spent in ministry to the members of my Air Force Reserve unit. I am writing a regular column on resiliency for our wing public affairs office and have spent lots of time on the phone, writing emails, and corresponding with people on social media who have been directly affected by the epidemic. Some of them have lost civilian jobs, others have been exposed in work places, are working on the front lines of health care, and others are simply trying to adapt to the challenges of teleworking while simultaneously caring for kids no longer able to go to school. Some Airmen are even trying to do all of that at once. I cannot even begin to imagine the stress that those families are experiencing at the moment.
This will continue to be a difficult season for many people for a long time to come. In my resiliency article for this week I encouraged our Airmen to find ways to pause, reflect on their situation, and then ultimately give themselves permission to feel the emotions they are experiencing. This awareness is the first step to being able to regroup and move on.
For me, I finished the week tired and somewhat overwhelmed. At the same time, I was able to look back and be amazed by the resiliency of both the members of our church and the wing that I serve. This is not going to be an easy time, but I know that we are going to be able to get through it together.
In my article, I also encouraged the Airmen to find ways to take care of themselves. This is critical to being able to keep moving during challenging times. The things we find helpful will be different for each person. They may also be different in this moment than they were in other seasons of life. Most of us have never lived through a pandemic before.
For me, I have found myself combining my pastoral phone calls with my outside exercise. Most of my phone visits have been done during solo walks around the block. Lily and I are intentionally blocking out time together for sit down meals together and are trying to end the day with a game of pool or a movie. It’s not perfect, but these little steps are helping us slowly adjust to working through the most challenging moment either of us have ever experienced in our professional lives.
