Best News of the Week:
Giant cinnamon rolls raise money, feed ‘bellies and souls’
https://apnews.com/27b9ff00dd7f03daf44fda73f6543c5e
News from Peace:
Hitting the wall
Guest Article by
Rev. Susan Nienaber, Big Waters District Superintendent
Over the past month as I’ve had conversations with clergy, I’ve heard a recurring theme. Pastors described the immediate jumping into action to manage the crisis of the pandemic and find new ways to connect with community and congregational members. It has been so inspiring to see the strength and creativity of these leaders, and I’m so proud to be part of an annual conference where folks so readily step up to help and support each other. But then, inevitably, many pastors had a day where they hit the wall. This is totally understandable. Emotional, physical, and spiritual exhaustion is to be expected.
I always get energized by a challenge, so when the pandemic hit, I too adjusted my life and routines. I quickly found that I was really enjoying being at home. But then, I started to worry that maybe I was enjoying this too much as I remembered those who are ill, those who have lost a loved one, health care workers on the front lines, the homeless, and those who are now unemployed. I realized how incredibly blessed I am and was beginning to experience a lot of survivors’ guilt. I am well aware of my privilege and that my problems are first-world problems.
And then I hit the wall. I woke up this morning very sad. I couldn’t quite tell what the sadness was all about. It felt global and existential. An hour into my day, I read an Instagram post of the final text message exchange between a child and his/her/their mother right before the mother died of the coronavirus. I was shattered by that post. I am highly sensitive to these stories because my mother died of cancer when I was just 13 years old. A huge crater of grief opened up in my soul.
Because I am someone who is “acquainted with grief,” I have learned how to care for myself in these moments. I knew that I had to set aside my work in order to make time to embrace my grief. I just needed to allow myself to feel all of my feelings without judgement, fear, or shame.
I turned to Psalm 42:6-8 (The Message):
“When my soul is in the dumps, I rehearse
everything I know of you,
From Jordan depths to Hermon heights,
including Mount Mizar.
Chaos calls to chaos,
to the tune of whitewater rapids.
Your breaking surf, your thundering breakers
crash and crush me.
Then God promises to love me all day,
sing songs all through the night!
My life is God’s prayer.”
I also turned to my very favorite, Psalm 131 (RSV):
“O Lord, my heart is not lifted up,
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a child quieted at its mother’s breast;
like a child that is quieted is my soul.
O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and for evermore.”
(The Message closes with these words: “Wait, Israel, for God. Wait with hope. Hope now; hope always!”)
I have no words to describe how the poetry of the Psalms can comfort and heal me or how it has comforted believers for thousands of years in the darkest moments of life. Yet, every time I read the Psalms, I feel the presence of God and of those ancient souls who have gone before me. And, once again this day, my soul was restored, and the crater of grief filled with thankfulness and praise to God.
Related resource: Rev. Susan Nienaber recommends a new podcast called “Checking In,” hosted by award-winning Harvard Medical School psychologist Susan David. In it, David offers strategies to help us cope with our heightened emotions during the pandemic. The show serves as a support system, toolkit, and understanding voice during a time of great uncertainty. Access podcast
Northeast Youth & Family Services Coordinating Spring Cleaning Help
Northeast Youth & Family Services about spring cleanup have been trying to connect individual and families who wish to volunteer with people in their program who need people to help with spring cleaning.
Peace had planned on doing a Service Sunday to help with spring cleaning of with home-owners unable to do it themselves coordinated by Northeast Youth and Family Services, whom we have partnered with in the past. However, because of Covid 19 that will not be happening.
If you or your family would like to help someone in need of spring yard work, you can contact Northeast Youth and Family Services at 651-486-3808. If you contact them let them know you are a participant of Peace Community of Faith and if they have households in need of help, follow these basic guidelines and any others they may give you.
- No inside work
- Physical distancing with those needing help must be 15 feet or more, communication by phone is best.
- Any person or group interested in helping should be made up of people quarantined individually or together for fourteen days.
As with everything during Covid 19, their programs and needs may change daily.
United Methodist Happenings
Pandemic tests church’s justice commitments
https://www.umnews.org/en/news/pandemic-tests-churchs-justice-commitments
Grace Connections of the Week:
Grace connections invites you to find the power of God’s love in the midst of the harm, confusion and news of the week. Below are a few stories from the news of the week.
Videos of the Week:
What face masks actually do against coronavirus
Photos of the Week:
Minnesota ‘Front porch’ project documents unity during pandemic
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/05/05/photos-front-porch-project-documents-unity-during-pandemic
“It’s Going Haywire:” When Covid 19 Arrived in Rural America
https://apnews.com/b2a2add19ce7f4f75f42b29331034706