Dear Holy Comforter Family,

This poorly written dystopian novel we now find ourselves in calls us to prayer. Anxiety, uncertainty, isolation, economic concerns, health worries are all part of this time. This pandemic is like a wave, with a beginning and a middle and an end, and things will be different afterwards, depending upon wave height. Might we, together, with actions of care and conscientiousness now, lessen some of the wave height? I pray this closure of our church worship and group gatherings for now will help. Not since the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 have we done such a thing in our diocese.

Whenever we face the big three, anxiety, loss, and pain, going to the Risen Christ can be helpful. Mainly we go because our way is already known. He has fully felt all these things already. His experience of the depths of our human experience and the heights of human experience paved paths for us to walk on. Jesus, the crucified and risen one has been there already. He knows where we are in this. Let Jesus the Christ befriend you through these times. Take time to claim his companionship now with you and us, acknowledge all your feelings and let him bear those with you. Go into nature and listen to birdsongs. Call old friends or people you think are disconnected.

We pray often in church that Jesus is the author of our salvation. He rewrites bad stories like we are living now and lets real love and care permeate those stories and restore them. Whatever bad storyline you have right now, let him help you change the script in love, minute my minute, hour by hour, day by day.

Let us join with his creative Spirit and friendship in this time and let him renew us from within.

Gracious and loving one, in Christ you meet our sorrow and in Christ you invite us to love through the agony and pain of life as you loved always. Help us to make this story of this time new with your saving help. Help us to receive your knowing grace and pain-bearing love in this time for ourselves and help us reach out in safe ways to one another rewriting our story with the Author of Life. Amen.

In Christ,

Jon+