COVID-19

Lament: For the Coronavirus and Beyond

BY: NORMAN WETTERAU, M.D. - FMHF PRESIDENT

Our churches could not meet in person. Our friends and relatives have been ill, and some have died. We have been isolated.  For many American Christians, we have been in a state of sadness and lament over the coronavirus. Some have also been sad because of our political situation.  Both sides are upset at our inability to agree on solutions to our national problems. Finally, our national life expectancy has decreased by two years even before coronavirus due to drug-related deaths and suicide. These are deaths of despair. Christians need to lament, turning the issues over to God and seeking his help and wisdom, and asking him to take away our anger and hopelessness.

This is not something we are good at. Soong-Chan Rah in his IV Press book on Lamentations, Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times, points out that many evangelical churches focus on celebration and triumphalism. He is critical of this as expressed in some white suburban evangelical churches, especially large prosperous ones. He calls on us to look at the inner city, the poor rural areas, and our overseas church and lament, not just for them but for ourselves. Revival will come through lament and honest repentance, rather than through great programs, celebration, and triumphalism.

We will explore lament at our fall annual conference which will be virtual on Saturday, September 18.  In making the decision to hold this virtual, rather than meeting in person, our board experienced sadness and lament. Let us come together on zoom and explore this together with our speaker, Chaplain Larry Lyons.  His first session, starting at 9:30, will be a follow-up of his talk at our virtual retreat last year. This pandemic on other social issues has gone on and on. How are we to react, not just to the disease but to what our different opinions are doing to families and churches. Where is God in all of this?

His second session will be on emotional intelligence and creating the patient experience. How do we as healthcare professionals build empathic skills and create emotional support? We may be in lament but many of those who are hurting look to us for help, whether the problem is coronavirus itself, unemployment, or the death of a family member from alcohol or a drug overdose. We then have the opportunity to meet one another virtually in two one-hour chat sessions, giving an opportunity to reflect, listen and share. After these two sessions, Pastor Wayne McCown will lead a 30-minute devotional. The meeting will be kept open for all of us to socialize and share what has been happening in our lives.

But our problems at home are not the only problems. As I have been reading about what has been happening in Haiti, Ethiopia, and the Congo, I have been brought to tears. These human realities make our problems seem small. Are we aware?  Do we and our churches pray for these countries? The problems are beyond human solution, but we have Free Methodists in all these countries. We cannot forget them. Mathew 25 calls on us to help those in need. I am afraid that some American Christians not only have no interest in helping but do not even want to know what is happening.   Even if we cannot solve these problems, we need to call our friends and churches to pray.

At the last General Conference Bishop Lubunga from the Congo attended. He is Bishop of one of the largest Free Methodist Conferences, not one of the poorest but the very poorest country in the world and a country that is still in tribal conflict, a continuation of the civil war that took the lives of 5 million people 20 years ago. At general conference, the Bishop was introduced and there was a prayer for Congo. It was an important moment for our General Conference and for Congo. Let us speak out in our churches, conference, and even at a general conference if that is necessary. We must know what is happening, lament and pray. Nothing is too horrible to pray about.

Join us for our virtual conference but also join us for lament and prayer for what has been happening.  We cannot change all of this but God can and maybe God will even use us to help.

A Talk with Steve Noblett on Coronavirus and the Church

This summary is a combination of what Steve Noblett said, and Norm Wetterau’s memory and interpretation. Listen to the full presentation under events on our website. Go to 152 minutes or listen to all the talks.

Revival is often preceded by Great Tribulation. Are We and our Churches Ready for this?

We asked Steve Noblett, executive director of the Christian Community Health Fellowship to share his thoughts on how the church might respond to this epidemic. His talk started with a surprise that he had not told me about in the conversations leading up to his agreement to speak. A year ago, he had been diagnosed with metastatic melanoma and told he had only months to live. He had a severe reaction to his first treatment, so treatment was stopped, and he prepared to die, but many people in the CCHF and others prayed. To his surprise, he was totally healed of this, and when asked what this meant, he said he did not know except that 2020 is the scariest and most wonderful year for him to be alive.

In talking to him before the program, he said that the problem is not just coronavirus. The epidemic has shown us that many things we had great faith in were not as good as we thought: the medical system, the economy, our political system, and our society as a whole with great economic and social divisions. Suddenly the effect of racism and poverty on dying from the coronavirus, among other things became clear. Our churches had to be closed but even if they were open what should they say? So I asked, is there any hope or anything to talk about? He did speak, so the answer was a resounding yes.

He started by asking, what is God trying to do? He is doing what he has done in every generation: he is advancing the kingdom of God. This kingdom is tangible and among us. He does this in every generation, but at times there may be special events that allow his purposes to be advanced much more than usual, and he feels that this may be one of those times. One previous time was at Pentecost. Peter quotes the prophet Joel, but this quote has two parts: God’s spirit being poured out on all people and the fact that the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord: Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Steve sees terrible trouble and tribulation connected with revival. He thinks this may be one of those times. In a very great outpouring of God, there can be great advancement, but also great collapse. He thinks that is what we may be seeing at this time.

He spoke of Romans 8:19-24 19.

For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?

He did not feel that God sent Covid as a judgment, but it came and it revealed that our medical, economic, and social systems were inadequate systems that we had always depended on, so our reaction is to stop the destruction. We want to make it right again, but it can never be that way. because in a way our economic system and social structures are not that right. Our hope cannot be in what has been, but in what God can bring about. Our medical system is stressed, our economy, social structures, and education system are collapsing. These systems, although not all bad, are not held together by God. and they are collapsing. So, what does this mean? He does not know but said we must turn to God for the meaning. The church cannot receive all that God has if we are simply trying to put together the old: whether medically. socially or in our lives and churches. Do we believe that God has something for us? Will he pour out his spirit? Are we ready? Is this what we want?

The creation is groaning and what do people want? They want freedom, security, health, life, and community. All these things are products of the kingdom, but we have been living in the kingdom without the king. Some of the weaknesses are in the church, so there may be changes in society but there may also be changes in the church. Too often the church has preached a gospel of individualism. We have to capture all aspects of the kingdom as it affects individuals and our society. He talked about labor pains and how in the midst of labor one does not give up. A new child is born, and this is what Paul is referring to. We need to see our current troubles as such. What is coming next? (listen to his talk to get the full and somewhat humorous description of this.)

Our hope is not in a society that is falling apart but in a kingdom that cannot be shaken. This is a time where we can represent hope. We can represent life and we can represent security. We can step into this current situation and proclaim the whole kingdom. Now the walls are down, and people are open to connecting to us and may be open to the kingdom. It is a time to connect. We need to also listen and learn how we walk forward together.

He really believes that if we recognize our role and the churches rise to it, we can see the greatest awaking we have ever seen in our lifetime, perhaps in history, and he thinks it will be global. He encouraged us to take a different world view. Don’t forget the pain and reality, don’t deny the pandemic but step into the situation with unity, humility, and faithfulness to the gospel.


Stories from Long Term Care and the COVID-19 Crisis

By: Kathy Petteys, Chaplain with Heritage Ministries

Originally a Webinar presentation on 9/19/20.

I am Chaplain Kathy.  I am a Chaplain with Heritage Ministries that is based out of Gerry, New York.  I work in three assisted living homes in Jamestown, NY and a Nursing Home located in Western, PA.  I want to capture the story of the people living in long term care during this present Covid19 crises.  The Elder’s story I am going to share is a composite of the many Elders God has given me the gift of knowing and walking with as their Chaplain.  

I know they care, but time is always of the essence in getting a job done.  I never thought I would become someone’s job.

My name is Agnes Rosella Maloney.  I was born in 1936.  I ended up in a nursing home due to a series of strokes.  I could no longer take care of myself and it was too much to expect my family to take care of me.  My kids are scattered everywhere.  Only a couple of my kids stayed in the home area.  I lost my home of 40 years, two of my children died as adults (I had 7), I lost my husband 10 years ago, several siblings and of course my parents.  I feel like my life these days has been nothing but losses... Losing my independence has been so difficult for me.  Then having to have different aids give me baths and take me to the bathroom has been embarrassing for me.  I am wheel-chaired bound. They have so many to take care of it is almost impossible to sit and have a conversation just about the weather or things I enjoy talking about.  I know they care, but time is always of the essence in getting a job done.  I never thought I would become someone’s job. 

I have had a full life, but it is not over yet, I am still here.  I want you to know my story.  I have a story; everyone does.  I was born into a large family.  I was the baby of the family.  My home growing up did not have a television.  I remember December of 1941.  It was an exciting time because Christmas was coming and all my family was going to be together.  My older siblings were coming home.  I will never forget the day that our lives changed forever. It was December 7, 1941.  We were all sitting around the radio when the news came that Pearl Harbor was hit.  I remember my older teenage brothers saying to each other, “tomorrow we need to go and enlist.”  And that is what they did.  We were thrown into WWII.  Christmas of 1941 was not what we were dreaming of.  Three of my brothers left before Christmas that year for military service.  Two came home at the end of the war, one of those had been badly wounded.  We did what families do.  We helped each other out.  My childhood was also impacted by a polio outbreak.  It had struck our country for a third time in 1946. It was so bad that President Harry Truman declared polio a threat to the USA.  There seemed to be someone affected with this disease in every family.  But again as a family, we were there for each other and supported each other and our community as best we could.  Thankfully a vaccine was developed.  

I went on to grow up, get married and have my own family. My husband and I worked hard.  We were a middle-class family and as a young married couple, we did not have the privilege of studying beyond high school.  We had our ups and downs, our struggles and scares. But once again we always had each other as a family and with many friends, we were blessed.  We worked hard to buy our own home.  I was what they call today a traditional housewife. I had the privilege of staying home to care for the family and my parents and in-laws as they aged.  As my children were growing I had nephews I loved sent off to Vietnam.  It was another crazy time in our country.   We saw changes that needed to happen with the Civil Rights moment.  I don’t have time to tell the stories of people I know and the lives they lived.  Our country has seen many changes in my lifetime.  But as always I have had a loving family and a great circle of friends.

I lived a full life and my plan was to die in my own home with family surrounding me.  But the strokes took away my independence and to the nursing home I went to live out the last years of my life.  I had to have a roommate.  My only roommates in life were my sisters and then my husband. But now I was with a total stranger.  I have a strong faith in God so I know He was helping me through with all these changes.  The loss of my home was so hard, everything my husband and I work so hard for was whittled down to a small space.  But that was ok.  I adjusted.  But I still had some of my family and some of my friends who came to see me. 

I love to know about other people’s lives.  I have met folks who also, lost their independence and had to move to this nursing home I live in now.  I have met people who are moms and dads, grandparents, great grandparents, teachers, nurses, engineers, firemen, doctors, farmers, ministers, veterans of WWII and Vietnam, the list goes on and on. Such a wealth of experiences in this nursing home.  I even know people who worked here in their younger years.  Others I have met came to live here quite young due to accidents.

 I was adjusting.  As long as my family could come and see me, it gave me hope.  The hugs, the in-person “I love you”,  the gathering at Thanksgiving and Christmas gave me hope.

I have had regular visits from family.   They would come and celebrate my birthday and holidays.  One of my sons came every Sunday to take me to the church service in the nursing home.  A lady on my floor had a son or daughter come every day to talk with her while she ate breakfast and then they would take her for a stroll in her wheelchair.  When I came to live here we had special trips to the store, the county fair and every week we had Bible Studies we could attend and mid-week devotions.  We also had services for the Catholic folks and the Protestants on Sunday. A group from the Brethren and Amish communities would come and sing for us, often. Their music is absolutely beautiful and full of hope.  I was adjusting.  As long as my family could come and see me, it gave me hope.  The hugs, the in-person “I love you”,  the gathering at Thanksgiving and Christmas gave me hope.  With family and friends around me, I felt like I could get through the many losses I have faced in life.  I could live and really live in a nursing home.  

Then this virus hit out country after Christmas 2019.  COVID-19 is what they call it. Who would ever thought the government would come into my nursing home and tell us we could no longer have in-house visits.  We have a restaurant in our home and that was closed.  We all had to eat isolated in our rooms.  The shocking rules kept coming.  Our hairdresser was not allowed to come in.  NO HAIRCUTS! Some of us had our hair done weekly.  Many of the men had regular hair cuts every other week.  The most shocking thing we were told was that our families and friends were no longer allowed to visit us.  Oh yes, I could see them through a window.  But sometimes there was a glare or I could not hear.  Even though they were only inches away, it felt like they were miles away.  I wanted to hold my new great grandchild, but I could not.  In the nursing home, group activities were stopped and no more gathering for church.  The Catholic deacons could not come in to give services or communion.  This happened several weeks before Easter 2020. Now Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming.  Will I have to live through those holidays without family and friends?  We had a bit of hope last week, families were able to visit, but six feet apart and no touching, mask on and someone present so we would not be able to sneak in a hug.  Then staff tested positive, asymptomatic, but positive.  Back to the rules of no visits.  Everyone who gives my care in this place is masked and has to wear eye protection.  So many barriers.  Honestly, why live?  The community that gave me life and a reason to live cannot even come near me. What is most important to me has been taken away...family.  I see in other residents besides myself: a very deep depression, hopelessness, anxiety.  I hear other residences say, “I miss my wife; I am old, I don’t have much time left; I can’t hold my grandchild or great-grandchildren; It doesn’t matter if I get Corona or not, I am going to die without seeing/holding/hugging my family; All I want is my hair cut; I cannot hear through a window!; All I want to do is go out with my son for ice cream;  I have completely lost my summer;  I am bored; I have to be in hospice to have family hold me again...” 

Where is Jesus?  That is where I want to begin with my story as a Chaplain.  I understand that the lockdown in nursing homes saves lives.  This virus, as we know when it gets into a nursing home it spreads like wildfire.  When I was a little girl growing up on a dairy farm in the Adirondack’s of New York, a neighbor,  by the name of Ann came and picked me up for church.  I was unchurched.  She had a little girl my age at the time (5-years-old), my best friend during those years.  My memories of my little church fill me with joy.  Ann and her faithfulness to bring me to church when she and her husband had a bunch of kids was such a blessing to me.  Ann in her 90’s died in a nursing home where the virus got in and spread.  Her family could only stand outside the window shouting I LOVE YOU MOM.  She loved Jesus and I know I will see her one day again! That brings me hope and comfort.

As a chaplain, I see the human plaques of HOPELESSNESS, LONELINESS, and BOREDOM invading the humane spirit.  Because of the laws passed down to us from the government, we are limited as to what we can do as humans.  BUT that does not limit God.  God is never limited.  When you think God has abandoned you read and memorize Zephaniah 3:17.

“ For the LORD your GOD is Living among you, He is a mighty Savior, He will take delight in you with gladness.  With His love, he will calm all your fears.  He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

For such a time as this the Lord Jesus has called His believers to lead and be His Voice.  Jesus is with us and working through us as believers.  In these months, my Chaplain responsibilities can be defined by three words:  PRAYER/LISTENING/VISITATION.  I do prayer walks around my Nursing home in Pennsylvania several times during my work week.  The Lord Jesus has given me many opportunities to not only share the love of Jesus with the Elders but also with their families and my co-workers. 

I would like to conclude with this thought: Every day at work I need to put on 2 types of PPE.  One set is my mask, goggles, and a gown(at times). The other PPE is found in Ephesians 6:

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the

time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.

The “chains of Coronavirus, does not stop the message of Jesus.  Where is Jesus?  He is right here, in you and in me.  He is Immanuel! God with us!

A Prayer Amid an Epidemic

By: Kerry Weber, Executive Editor of America Magazine

Originally published in America Magazine: The Jesuit Review. Used with Permission.

Jesus Christ, you traveled through towns and villages “curing every disease and illness.” At your command, the sick were made well. Come to our aid now, in the midst of the global spread of the coronavirus, that we may experience your healing love.

Heal those who are sick with the virus. May they regain their strength and health through quality medical care.

Heal us from our fear, which prevents nations from working together and neighbors from helping one another.

Heal us from our pride, which can make us claim invulnerability to a disease that knows no borders. Jesus

Christ, healer of all, stay by our side in this time of uncertainty and sorrow. Be with those who have died from the virus. May they be at rest with you in your eternal peace.

Be with the families of those who are sick or have died. As they worry and grieve, defend them from illness and despair. May they know your peace.

Be with the doctors, nurses, researchers and all medical professionals who seek to heal and help those affected and who put themselves at risk in the process. May they know your protection and peace.

Be with the leaders of all nations. Give them the foresight to act with charity and true concern for the well-being of the people they are meant to serve. Give them the wisdom to invest in long-term solutions that will help prepare for or prevent future outbreaks. May they know your peace, as they work together to achieve it on earth.

Whether we are home or abroad, surrounded by many people suffering from this illness or only a few, Jesus Christ, stay with us as we endure and mourn, persist and prepare. In place of our anxiety, give us your peace.

Jesus Christ, heal us.

The Great Reset

By: Dierdre L. McCool, Vice President - Butterfield Foundation

So many things have changed since the Coronavirus entered our world. At Butterfield Foundation, we experienced a COVID-19 workplace exposure on March 13. Within three hours, we scrambled to put policies and technology in place to allow our team to self-quarantine and work from home. Like many other states, Oklahoma had Shelter-in-Place legislation that launched within a few weeks of the exposure. Thankfully, we had become experts at telecommuting!

During the early days of the pandemic, responses to the unknown befuddled me. Mass hysteria seemed to be ever-present as was the lack of hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, bread, flour, and toilet paper. Businesses closed, highways were eerily empty, and masks hid smiles. Fear and anxiety were constant undercurrents. Many charitable clinics and social service organizations started to struggle financially. Securing PPE and other necessary supplies to minister to at-risk populations was proving expensive. The Butterfield Foundation acted quickly, setting aside $200,000 in Covid-19 grant funding.

In my neighborhood, I noticed some interesting ripple effects. Children began to appear on our sidewalks on bikes, scooters, roller skates, and at our pond with fishing rods. Dads and moms strolled by our house holding hands. Unruly yards morphed into garden masterpieces. My life also changed. My husband and I cooked healthier meals, walked every morning, and increased our prayer life. We had more time for family and friends. Jesus was – and still is – resetting my pace and priorities.

I recently learned Corona means “crown” in Latin. In essence, COVID-19 is the “crown virus.” Based on how things have changed, I would certainly agree it wins the prize for changing the world in 2020. However, another Person wore a crown that promises eternal change: Jesus Christ. Over 2,000 years ago, He donned a crown of thorns so we could experience redemption and complete restoration. Thankfully, His crown trumps all crowns!

It seems as if God is up to something during this pandemic. He recently brought the following Scripture to mind:

Isaiah 43:18-19 - “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

According to Christianity Today, millions of worried people who turned to the internet due to COVID-19 anxiety have ended up connecting with Christian evangelists and coming to know Jesus. They have exchanged a mutable crown of fear for an immutable crown of love. The Great Commission is resetting…it is going digital.

Many of the charitable clinics in Oklahoma – and throughout the nation - upgraded technology and implemented telehealth. The ability to reach more patients with whole person healthcare is expanding. Is He in the process of re-setting healthcare too?

I think He is offering all of us a chance to reset our lives.

In closing, I want to encourage everyone to evaluate heed the words of the Isaiah to see what – if anything - Jesus wants to “reset” in your life. The following are a few questions to help you get started:

  1. What needs to be “set again?”

  2. What needs to be different?

  3. What specific areas of life would you like to change?

  4. Where do you need to spend less time?

  5. What do you need to more of?

  6. Why do you want to change these things?

Special Newsletter: Coronavirus Pandemic

(Our regular spring issue is ready to go but will be sent out in May)

BY: NORMAN WETTERAU, M.D. - FMHF PRESIDENT

An issue of Wholeperson Health Care was ready to go out in March but as the epidemic spread, I waited. We will send the issue out soon and it will include information on our retreat planned for Sept 18-20, plus an article by Frank Ogdon, and one by Tim Kratzer.

What can we say about this epidemic? What do we say to our family, our friends, and our church? I have been asking God. For me, I have had a pretty easy life. I was drafted but not sent to Vietnam. I have had the same job in the same community and good health. I have had good Christian Friends and seen God work in our community and many lives.

On the other hand, I have been aware of disaster overseas, especially in Congo and problems in the US among the poor in our own community. My neighbor lost two children last year: one age 15 to a car accident and 6 months later his older brother who no longer lived at home, to a drug overdose. I visited my neighbor, prayed for many of these situations and contributed money, but was never in such a painful situation.

Some of you have been in even worse situations: riots, civil war, and overwhelming disease with little to do for the disease. Now we are not on a mission station that lacks supplies and treatment but in the US. We have no treatment except respirators but not enough. We do not have enough gowns. Some of our mission hospitals are chronically in that position.

Now everything has stopped. I am not sure what is more frightening, the disease, or the collapsing economy. Will people have food? Where will governments get the money for the relief that is needed? How long will this last?

We read Bible verses telling us that God is in control but still have anxiety. People look to us for treatment and assurance but we are also looking for assurance.

I am asking those who read this to send their thoughts to me so we can post them. I am asking us to pray for each other. Any crisis brings out the best and worst. Some drug addicts in treatment are relapsing but others from the streets now are coming in for help. Those in good marriages end up stronger but for others, the marriage will become worse. Email me your thoughts: normwetterau@aol.com and we might post some of them.

Christian Community Health Centers

This site has excellent summaries of how some of the urban health centers are addressing the coronavirus epidemic. Much of this is not in the regular press and is worth reading and praying about.

Lamenting and Rejoicing at the Same Time

Many of us receive Word and Deed e-mails from the medical group in Burundi. Eric McLaughlin, who spoke at our retreat in 2018 (see our Dec 2018 newsletter), wrote a recent post which I felt was very appropriate for this time in our nation. He has granted permission to reprint it here.

In addition, the book which he talked about publishing is now available at Amazon: Promises in the Dark: Walking with Those in Need Without Losing Heart

Those of us who attended the 2018 retreat will want to read more about the subject and those who were not able to attend should even more order it. This short piece from Word and Deed is a sample of the wisdom and vision God has given him. As we pray for our own country in this epidemic, pray also for Burundi, and the rest of Africa. This virus could be even more devastating there.

By: Eric McLaughlin, M.D.
Original Post

We are living in a time of loss.  And so are you, fellow inhabitant of planet Earth.  This season is not what anyone predicted.  We cannot go where we thought we could go.  We cannot do what we thought we were doing.  We cannot be with those whom we thought to spend time.  We do not know when things will change, which makes any significant planning nearly impossible.  Early February has this amazing nostalgia.  The glory of that ordinary life - we knew it not.  May we know it better when it returns.

Watching people all over the world grapple with this time of loss has shown me two seemingly contradictory responses:

First, there is an increased call for the importance of lament.  Articles such as NT Wright’s and different books (including my own) have been sources of resonance for a lot of people.  Lament is indeed a gift to us in times like our own.  We don’t have answers, and we don’t know yet when answers will be forthcoming.  Our normal means of decision-making and anxiety-mitigation have been stripped from us by the utterly unprecedented nature of the global COVID- 19 pandemic.  We don’t know what to do.

Here, lament gives us the words and even the emotional stance that we need.  We cry out to God.  We pour out our complaint.  We ask “How long?” as more than a rhetorical question.  We don’t understand, but can at least know to whom our complaint is rightly addressed.  We do better to take the ugliest thought to God than the most cleaned-up thought anywhere else.  “We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”  (2 Chronicles 20:12)

The second response is one of celebration and beauty.  As our normal life becomes restricted, and in many places slows down, there is a need to find some form of celebration.  People write notes to each other.  You may have seen more longtime friends on Zoom in the past couple of weeks than you have in years.  Yesterday, my wife walked through our house loudly singing Les Miserables tunes (“One day more!”) and the kids joined in.  The joy and the beauty are a defiance of the fear and the darkness, and this is as it should be.

I have loved watching the art and the music that Covid sequestration has already birthed.  My med school classmates are posting brilliant dual-piano pieces that they are playing together despite being a time zone apart.  Our team intern’s watercolors of a beautiful JRR Tolkien quote are circulating on social media.  I can’t remember when the beauty of American spring was so celebrated in photos.  The human creative spirit inside all of us, which is part of humanity’s role as image bearers of a creative God, has hardly ever been so evident.  We need this.

So we find that we need to lament this loss.  And we find that we need to fill the void of this loss with a celebration of beauty.  And it feels impossible to do both of these together.  Give me one or the other, and some kind of path is laid before me.  But both?  I can feel my feet sticking to the ground.

God's Eternal Plan

By: Tim Kratzer, M.D.

We live so much of our lives as those driven by circumstances and victims of misfortune. We have entered into that reality as we find ourselves dealing with this COVID-19 pandemic. We’re confined to our homes. Friends and loved ones have been hospitalized, and some have lost the battle with this unseen enemy. Our economy has been turned upside down. Jobs have been lost. Accumulated wealth is disappearing.

Early on during this period of social isolation, Connie and I were reading from John 2:13-22 where the cleansing of the temple is described. In other Gospels, this event is placed just before the week of the Passion of Christ. Here we see Jesus beginning his ministry as he sets matters straight with the spiritual leaders by cleansing the temple. So also Jesus steps into our lives, setting our priorities right.

Jesus came, the Word become flesh. Now he steps into the temple, to give witness to God’s eternal plan. The Jewish center for worship, prayer, instruction, and sacrifice had become a place of commerce. The sacred had been reduced to the secular. What did Jesus see? Money changers and the selling of livestock were crowding out those who had come to be in the presence of God.

What did Jesus do?

“Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased (the merchants) out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and the cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, ‘Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace! ‘”
(John 2:15-16)

So what was God’s plan? The Jewish leaders questioned Jesus. “What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.” (John 2:18) Jesus replied by saying that if this temple were destroyed, he would raise it up in three days. The Pharisees did not understand as many people do not understand today, even our so-called spiritual leaders. He was speaking of his sacrificial death, resurrection, and eternal purpose.

But there was one Pharisee named Nicodemus who was beginning to understand. “’Rabbi,’ he said, ‘we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.’” (John 3:2) John in his Gospel reports that many began to believe and trust. (John 2:23) They were being introduced to a God of love. “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

In this time of suffering and uncertainly, we put our faith in God who promises us eternal life. We die to self and are born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. What a blessing to be reminded of our eternal hope.

Will the Corona Virus Change America?

By: NORMAN WETTERAU, M.D. - FMHF PRESIDENT

At this point, everything seems negative: staying at home, worried that we or a family member might die from the virus, and the economic collapse that our nation seems to be entering into. This epidemic is uncovering some weaknesses and unaddressed problems in our land. Will we decide to address these? So far it appears we might. Both political parties are suddenly concerned with the uninsured, even those who were previously opposed to any expansion in our government health programs. We do not want the uninsured to stay at home, infect others, and then die, leaving children without parents or grandparents. Suddenly some who had opposed the expansion of government-subsidized health care are concerned.

Children are going to school at home, but many had no home computers or internet access at home. Suddenly large school districts are finding ways to correct this situation. This problem is no longer pushed under the rug.

Then there is the problem of the marginally employed, the waitresses, taxi drivers, and part-time store clerks who are out of work. Both political parties came together to provide money for some of these people. We are all concerned that they have shelter and food. More problematic are the homeless and undocumented workers who are now unemployed. The virus can easily spread through homeless shelters. When we are to shelter at home, what happens if we have no home? Every unsheltered person is a risk to others but these people are unsheltered due to the economic status and lack of a home. Some of these problems might be harder to address than the issue of health insurance or computer-based education for all, but still need to be addressed.

Another issue in our basic economic system is fine in good times but not for a crisis such as this one. Dr Stiglitz, a professor at Columbia University and 2001 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics wrote an opinion piece in the April Time magazine: Vol 195, No 14. He points out that markets can be shortsighted and risk-averse. Of course, the markets seemed to work wonderfully in the past few years, but their efficiency does not prepare us for a crisis. We needed to produce and store gowns and masks but how can one expect a company to produce things that they are not paid for and then store them for some emergency that may never come. There are things that a free economy is good for and things that the government needs to do. A totally free enterprise healthcare system has not prepared us for this and by itself, it cannot solve the problem. It appears that now people recognize this, but what about the next time? He compared what we have done to buying a car and saving money by leaving out a spare tire. Everything is fine and we have more room in the trunk until a flat tire occurs. Dr. Stiglitz writes: “We have been running our entire society without spare tires and proud of the seeming efficiency we’ve gained, and never prouder than in the health care sector.”

So we are responding to many of these challenges. It has been surprising how both political parties can agree. Let’s pray that this can continue. The real question is, once this epidemic is over will we remain concerned for those without insurance, the unemployed, the homeless, and the small businesses? Will we return to a very efficient private health care system that running without any spare tires?

For continued discussion, check out this article from the University of Michigan.

How to Protect People who are Homeless During Covid-19