A World of Competing Sorrows
We certainly have seen the sorrows of the world in Afghanistan this week. We have watched and read accounts coming from that war torn country with frustration, fear, sadness, helplessness, perhaps even a little hopelessness. We grieve for our sisters and brothers of the faith there, knowing that many of them will be called to hold fast to the faith in the face of martyrdom. While there may be little tangibly that many of us can do, while we may have differing opinions on how things should have or should be handled politically, we all have the privilege and responsibility to bring these people, this country, before the Lord in prayer. We prayed through Psalm 9 as a Christ Church community Wednesday night. In the midst of his own trouble David proclaims, “The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you. (vv. 9,10)”
Closer to home we have the sorrow that the COVID Delta variant is rising within our community. The positivity rates in Kent County have continued to rise and now exceed the threshold that the CDC recommends for masking in indoor gatherings. In light of this, the session is recommending the following as we continue to monitor the situation.
- First, we will reinstitute an outdoor offering at 10:30, for at least the next three weeks, to enjoy the outside feel while we continue to monitor the situation.
- Second we are recommending but not requiring CC attenders to mask at indoor events as the Delta variant has proven to be highly transmittable regardless of vaccination status. Please read this helpful primer on the Delta variant.
My guess is that many of you, like me, were really hoping that we would never have to have another COVID conversation again. Some of you may be rolling your eyes. Some of you may be saying that it is about time we addressed this. In ethics they talk about “a world of competing sorrows” - that is, a world in which there is no response that does only good and not also harm. In responding to COVID this is especially true when you factor in the enormous emotional toll on individuals, our community and our call to discipleship that will be involved in these decisions. We will all need to be as wise and charitable as possible.
While we seek to take appropriate measures with respect to COVID, we do believe that our situation is different than last year. As such we are committed to worshipping together, Sunday School, Bible study, prayer meetings, and other discipleship endeavors. Let us also commit to honoring one another as we all have different vulnerabilities, opinions and pressure points when it comes to COVID. As we saw last week, and will dig deeper into this week, in the midst of brokenness and pain, Moses asked the Lord, “Please show us your glory!”. It is a prayer that the Lord answers with abounding mercy that sustains a community in the midst of their wilderness wanderings. Sounds like exactly what we need.
Photo by Ahmed M Elpahwee on Unsplash