Weekly pandemic thoughts from Mitch

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

How are you? Really, how are you doing? I want to know. The church wants to know. What can we pray for? What can we do to be more supportive during this time? The clergy at St. Martins dearly want to know how you are. 

I suspect we have members who are all over the board. Some are physically very tired; others I know are bored and ready for restrictions to end; and, still, others are as happy as a clam. This broad and ever changing spectrum of personal wellness during a pandemic is part of what makes ministry and caregiving to one another so hard. The way we get through this difficulty is with careful and intentional listening, open communication, and blanket offerings of grace. 

Intentional listening is at the heart of loving our neighbors as ourselves. You cannot be a friend in Christ to another person without listening. Loving your neighbor as yourself is a two-way street. Active, intentional listening is the basis for open and honest communication. Communities thrive on this type of communication. Open communication is communication that builds up, speaks the truth, is never envious, or boastful, or rude. In short open communication is the communication of love.

Finally, extend grace. I recently spoke to a minister friend. He admitted to me that he had stopped praying before worship. He said it wasn't intentional. It had happened over time as there became more and more to do in order to safely hold a church service. This same friend told me that he thought on most days he was working at about 80 percent of his usual capacity. There are too many distractions, too many health concerns, too much to worry about. As I listened to him, I realized that on any given day, I could have been listening to myself.

My friend, none of us will be able to navigate this pandemic "perfectly" for none of us are perfect and very few of us are operating at this time at 100 percent of our usual selves. This is where grace needs to enter the picture. Not the grace from God, but the grace we give to each other. Be instruments of peace and instruments of grace by offering grace to everyone around you. We are each doing differently during this time. Some days we are doing very well, and on other days, we feel like we have just won front row seats on the struggle bus. The offering of grace means you understand that everyone has the potential of doing well during this time, and at the same time, not so much. That on any given day we could be in any position. A simple "I understand. Would you like to talk? I am happy to listen" can go further then any of us could possibly imagine.

In Christ,

Mitch+