Tag Archives: covid-19

“Put On Your Oxygen Mask First”: Self-Care During a Pandemic

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“Put on your own oxygen mask first.”

If you have ever travelled on an airplane you know the root of this phrase. On an airplane it means that in an emergency you can’t physically care for others if you don’t care for yourself first.

In March I first addressed the issue of self-care, assuming we would be at this COVID thing for two or three weeks; Easter at the latest. Here we are, week twelve, having celebrated Maundy Thursday,  Good Friday, Easter, Pentecost and now Trinity Sunday all under social distancing. Tori’s and my supervisory committee have told us that we aren’t to travel until at least the end of September and I am mentally preparing for the fact that many of us will not be back into our churches until 2021 at the earliest and even then, worship will be dramatically different than it was.

So what does this all mean?

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Session Resource on Re-Opening Church Buildings

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We have been physically apart from our church families for two-and-a-half months now and we are excited that our government and health officials are beginning to consider how and when our communities might re-open down the road. In light of this, many of our sessions are beginning to wonder what re-opening their church building might look like. How will worship need to be changed to ensure that compassionate concern for the health of all of our members is ensured? Should nurseries and Sunday schools start back up right away? Can smaller groups meet in the meantime before our whole community of faith is allowed to gather together in our church building? These are all great questions.

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A Good News Story to Share

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Sewing machines and knitting needles have been working overtime in Elmvale, Ontario. The members of the church’s Women’s Missionary Society and the Elmvale Craft Group have been working faithfully during this pandemic to create hundreds of much-needed items for their local hospital, for those experiencing homelessness, and for many others whose lives have been affected dramatically in Canada, the Dominican Republic and Honduras these last few months.

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Leadership in a Time of Great Change: A Call To Lead

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Over the past fourteen years as Regional Minister for Congregational Health, the workshop I have most often been asked to present is entitled, ‘Eldership as Spiritual Leadership’. In this workshop I encourage elders (ruling and teaching) to embrace their calling as spiritual and physical leaders of their communities of faith. This challenge is not always easily received.

In order for the call to leadership to make sense, we need to understand what leadership is. An easy way to understand leadership is to contrast it with management. Management guru, Peter Drucker, famously said,

“Management is doing things right; Leadership is doing the right thing.”

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Some Thoughts on the Inclusion of Children and Youth in Online Worship

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As our churches have made the transition to new ways of doing worship through online platforms, I wondered how our families with children were doing. Knowing that all of our churches are working hard to keep everyone engaged in worship and the life of the congregation, I thought I would ask some parents how it was going and what they would say are the best practices they have experienced that assist their children and teens in feeling connected in worship, and what they might recommend to their worship leaders to consider as they plan for worship services that are more inclusive of all ages.

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Pinwheels for Pentecost

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As we move through Eastertide, we begin to anticipate Pentecost as the amazing conclusion to this season. At Pentecost the Holy Spirit was breathed into the disciples and they launched themselves out of the room they were closed up in and into the streets of Jerusalem, filled with energy and a story to tell. On fire (not literally), they spoke to those crowded in the marketplaces of Jerusalem in every language of the world, and all the people understood them. And what they heard from the disciples was the story of Jesus; his life, his death and his resurrection. And the Spirit didn’t stop with the disciples, the breath of God blew through all of those who listened and believed that day, just as the Holy Spirit has continued to blow through the church in every age and in every place since then. Pentecost is a great day in the church: it’s our birthday – so let’s celebrate!

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When Someone Dies in a Time of Social Distancing

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Friends,

Greetings in the name of our Risen Lord! This week we are hearing news that the COVID-19 virus seems to have peaked in Ontario and other provinces. We fear that we are still far from a return to our usual routines but remain hopeful. We are especially encouraged that so far there are fewer deaths than many models had been predicting.

That said we are profoundly aware that friends and colleagues still have to face the reality of socially distanced deaths and funerals in their congregations. We are also aware of those who have family members, particularly in care facilities, who they are unable to visit or care for in person. For all of us, the big question is this, “What if my loved one dies and I can’t be there?”

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Cairn Connects – Week Five of Great Activities for Campers (and wanna-be campers) at Home

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Thank you Robynne (Mapes) Howard for another great week of camp activities for kids to connect with this week as we continue to social distance at home. Check out the Camp Cairn website (http://ilovecamp.org/cairn-connects.cfm) for all the details that tell you how to get online with the camp staff for your Cairn Connects activities of choice.

Enjoy your week everyone, and sing ‘Our God is an Awesome God’ one day this week for me.

As an aside, when JP (Cheshire) and I (Rumples) walked the Camino de Santiago a few years ago, we would sing every camp song we ever knew at the top of our lungs late in the day to keep us going to the end of our day’s journey. When we made it to our evening’s lodging we’d always get asked, “Were you guys singing out there?” Yup – we were, and loved every minute of it. Thanks to Glen Mhor and Iona for keeping us company on our journey.

Great (and free) Resources for Faith Formation @ Home

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Many curriculum publishers are graciously offering free curricula and resources for churches and families to take advantage of during this time when we’re all learning from home. Some are even developing special resources that shift teaching from a classroom leader to everyone in the family exploring and learning together. What follows is a curated list of some wonderful offerings that are theologically Presbyterian and Reformed and place the educational emphasis on family conversation and wondering together. Enjoy exploring some of these great offerings for your church and family.

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