Ahhh, Covid, the pandemic, an epoch of, “could you repeat that please” a time when so many have been muffled in their speech and their way of life.
And yet, this tiny piece of protection, the obstacle, is our means of introduction. The prelude to what has become our new face of perseverance that motivates us to repeat again and again what we have been called to say as appointed prophets to the nations. JEREMIAH 1:5
The mask has brought a form of solidarity within struggling community groups, groping for the new normal, in finding ways of outreach we all took for granted.
The mask has forced us to embrace new forms of media allowing our speech to be heard but also reciprocally, for us to hear the needs and to embrace and rally around our neighbours. We then become aware of the need to open our churches up to them, to support them with an attitude of mission, thereby allowing them to see the signs, the miracles of our faith in what can be done, to see the realty of what was always there behind the mask.
During these two years of the pandemic that began with our shutdown on March 15 2020, St-Barnabas has flourished with many opportunities even if in other areas we have become dormant.
When we lose one of our senses, the other complimentary senses must become stronger to compensate. When our speech is muffled, our hearing and sense of love and ingenuity become stronger. Our active out-reach allows us to see the partnerships on our doorsteps.
Whether we gather distanced or via Zoom, we must continue to plan for the days to come, to indeed ready the house of the Lord to be prepared to welcome and nourish the nations within our communities.
During the pandemic we have increased to four congregations from two. We have two community choirs now in addition to our community orchestra, the Scouts, Meals on Wheels, and we host a Karate class helping those with autism. We recently partnered out a portion of our office space to Table de concertation des groupes de femmes de la Montérégie, individuals dedicated to helping others in need.
Miraculously, with the hiring of two new vergers we took these opportunities during the lockdowns to refurbish our premises, preparing a better environment for worship and for our community partners to work safely and comfortably.
