Starting Over with Covid-19

By Vicki Marsh, Past Women’s Ministries President

In January, I began my term as President of Women’s Ministries at a church which I had joined the prior year.  I was “starting fresh” in women’s work, in my church, and in a town that I had recently moved to.  At that time, I was excited to get started, use new ideas, and revitalize our program.  I had no idea that we would be “starting fresh” again in six months because of Covid-19!

Quarantines kept us from meeting together for church, circles, Sunday School, Bible Studies, and many other church related groups.  Opportunities for worship that had always been available were put on hold.  Churches began to livestream services and more emails about what was happening were prevalent.  Some groups learned about Zoom and other internet gathering abilities so that we could still “see” each other and communicate which helped—but it wasn’t quite the same as “being there!”

At last we have reached a time where many churches are beginning to have in-house worship services (complete with proper social distancing and often masks).  Some circles and Sunday School classes have begun to meet in members’ homes until their church facility is open to meetings.  The light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer but we are not quite there yet!

At a recent outdoor graduation party for my granddaughter, it was good to see many people that I had not seen in a long time.  It was, however, difficult to know whether to hug (my first instinct), wave, elbow tap, shake hands in greeting, or just smile.  Our “New Normal” and what it looks like will hopefully evolve into a “Better Normal” where we have even more excitement than before about being able to worship together and that we will be more sensitive and helpful to others in need.  We need to appreciate the fact that we can be together again.  Our “normal” needs to be us being more active in our religious life—more involved at church and in the church’s ministries, more dedicated to studying God’s Word, and having a more active prayer time!  We need to pray for each other, for our police force, for protestors, and most of all, for our country to bring God back into our government, schools, and daily lives.

Find a way to get involved!  Become a volunteer for an organization that has “a lot of work to do and not enough money to pay more employees!”  Join a group at church that you have thought about but never quite found the time or courage to join!  Support local businesses that have suffered economically because of the “lockdown.”  Consider being a mentor at a nearby school!  Donate all of that “stuff” that you found that you don’t use. (You had lots of time to clean out closets during the quarantine, didn’t you?)  Lastly, thank God for being with us during this difficult time and bringing us through!