by Ashley Ariel
We are in a moment that presents a nearly unprecedented challenge to the church. We must rise to the occasion and rethink in-person ministry and worship in a world where we must live apart. It is a difficult concept on which to dwell, but for many of us, the most loving act we can choose right now is to stay away from our churches, workplaces, nonprofits, and ministry activities. So, how can we still act as the church while moving forward in this new paradigm?
Go Forth and Get Digital
In short, we get creative. Many churches, pastors, and priests have started to live-stream sermons, worship service, and prayer times. I have one friend who’s using this time to build a weekly global prayer meeting through Zoom. Other pastors are using Twitter and Facebook to organize virtual get-togethers so that people both inside and outside the church can come together to experience virtual fellowship.
In this time, we must lean into excellent written and visual communication in contexts we may have never before considered. We must check in on those who feel alone by turning to calls and texts, brushing off our bitmoji and gif skills to send light and love in a world that seems all too dark. Humor is one of our greatest weapons against fear and now is the time to make use of that stash of corny ministry memes you’ve been waiting to use.
If You Have Resources, Use Them
For those who are able, donating to food banks, continuing to tithe, and buying take out food and gift cards from local restaurants are a great way to pour into the community. Working with your local hospital to see if you can donate food to the medical community working tirelessly to save lives and come up with cures for the virus is another good way to contribute.
Keep your eyes open. If someone in your neighborhood has lost their job, see if there are ways you can help them get through this time. If you’re able-bodied, check on your neighbors, ask if they need someone to shop for them, cut their lawn, or do some other task that they themselves can’t do. There are always ways to embody love to your friends, neighbors, and the wider community, they may just look different than they did two months ago.
Extend Kindness to Essential Workers
Another way to act is to continue to lift up our essential workers in our prayers (see Gary’s, Prayer in a Time of Pestilence) and by being a light whenever we encounter them. The doctors, nurses, cleaners, delivery drivers, medical admins, check out clerks, grocery store stockers, truck drivers, fulfillment center workers, farmhands, fast food workers, nurses aids, and so many more, are taking their lives in their hands, and continuing to work through a terrifying time. They deserve not only our respect and admiration, (as well as steady health insurance, and, at least a $15 per hour wage). Even as they work at holding together the social fabric of our society now, we must work both now and later on their behalf to ensure that we don’t forget their essential nature to our daily lives even after the pandemic has passed.
Working toward shalom in the world means centering our neighbor’s humanity. It means using our social, financial, and political capital toward bringing about wholeness and dignity into the world. It means putting aside individualistic blinders and heaving with all our strength toward the good of the community, even if that means just practicing the discipline of sitting at home. Together, our love can outshine the panic of our times, if we but strive to love creatively.
