The Revs. Smiths’ Message for August 9, 2020

It is an idea born out of fear, anxiety and disease.

When Covid 19 hit, Renfrew County started up VTS — Virtual Triage System, where paramedics go into the homes of those without family doctors, those who have difficulty getting to the doctor, and/or do not want to sit in waiting rooms, or those who don’t need or want an Emergency Room visit. The paramedics provide a friendly face to those who live alone. They take blood for testing, administer shots and just generally check up on people. The authorities, imagining new ways to care for people at home so that they can recover at home, are calling it a better way to deliver healthcare.

“Calling of the Apostles” (1481), fresco at the Sistine Chapel by Italian painter Domenico Ghirlandaio (1448–1494); taken from the Wikimedia Commons.

In the church, are we also learning new, better, ways of doing things? Can some work be handled quite easily over a ZOOM meeting? Probably, although we still miss the fellowship of meeting in person.

What are we learning about using technology to reach beyond our borders, to learn of life from others beyond our borders? Are we discovering creative ideas for worship? What are we learning about the importance of keeping in touch and about ways we can do that, in a world of physical distancing? What have we learned about what is important to hang on to, and what can we let go – at least for now?

As this peculiar time continues on and on, God grant us inquisitive spirits, open to new ways of following Jesus and participating in the work of God’s kingdom.

Revs. Bob and Helen Smith

This message first appeared in the August 8, 2020, edition of Tidbits.