Thoughts on Easter Sunday, 2020

Everything is different now, will everything be different in 5 weeks, 5 months, 5 years . . . ?

This Easter has more in common with the first Easter than any Easter in the past 75 years — globalization has receded; localization is ascending; health care is inadequate; air pollution is mainly from spring pollen; fossil fuels do not dominate our lives; ethnic, racial, income disparities are revealed; security is focused on supply chains and essential services rather than nuclear weapons and overseas military posts.

In 5 weeks, some leaders hope to open the economy back to 3% unemployment and record highs on the stock markets. Others say, go slow, increase virus testing and contact tracing, build up strategic stock piles, no more hand shaking, decrease business air travel, maximize work from home and online meetings, expand health care to underserved peoples, expand sick leave policies, consider rationing scarce consumer goods, consider price fixing for essential medical supplies . . . .

In 5 months, we’ll be into September, and school may have resumed for kids, who, we think, are less at risk for serious health outcomes from COVID-19. Will there be an uptick in cases with their parents and grandparents? Will checks to all citizens from the government be a normal monthly thing? Will government performance, in general, be appreciated, resented, or mocked? Will the presidential election campaigns look too close to call, or will one candidate or the other appear to be dominating?

In 5 years, will America First, Brazil First, Europe First — be normalized public opinion, or will a new internationalism and interdependence be the key words of political leaders in the U.S. and most nations and regions? Will other pandemics and climate disasters re-orient the U.S. and the world economies? Will COVID-19 be looked back on as our Chernobyl, our Fukushima? Will the insurance industry and actuaries be satisfied they have a good grasp of risk assessments going forward? Will the Green New Deal look more realistic and achievable? What about racism and gun rights — will these issues become more divisive or fade into the background?

Lent 2020 — Day 37

The Value of Mentors

Letter to a young friend —

I hope this email encourages you to pursue whatever opportunities come your way, and to even seek out new ones that are hidden. Weighing one against another is challenging, but we’ve been hearing a lot about triage with COVID-19. It’s a good model, I think, when rationing your energy and activism. (If you read all the way to the bottom of this email, I will give you some more context.)

I think an email I sent on Sunday after our adult SS class on the Holocaust might be a pro pos here (I’ve highlighted the main sentence):

Friends,

I hope we can get to E______________’s question about “lessons learned” from this historical survey and look to our current times and especially, to the future.

One observation the strikes me is the diversity of opinions and reactions among our forebearers. To the extent they were unified in reacting to or conforming with their cultures, we are very similar. No examples were given that portrayed efforts to become part of leadership and shape events. This is where I see our congregation may have a “duty of care,” to encourage our younger members (under 50?) to prepare themselves for leadership in our democracy. There may be an (Dr.) Anthony Fauci among us. Or an (Gov.) Andrew Cuomo. Or a (Gov.) Gretchen Whitmer. Or a (Mayor) Quinton Lucas. Or a (Gov.) Laura Kelly.

I am thinking of K______________ and J______________ and K______________ and D______________ and T______________, and J______________, A______________, C______________ — who have I left out? R______________! S______________! It’s tempting to just include our whole directory!

We heard how pacifism was largely abandoned by Mennonites who stayed in Europe after the 1870’s. That was a big lesson learned, and not in a good way. Now, in the USA, in our times, shouldn’t we abandon the tradition of non-participation in government and elective politics? Should this not be our challenge?

If the Green New Deal is our best chance for the future of civilization, don’t we owe it to our grandchildren and their grandchildren to fully participate in leading the way?

Next steps? A Rainbow PAC? A Rainbow on-line school for Applied Community Building?

So, if you would like to know more about K or H or E or A— I think you already know L, R and R — I would very much like to introduce you to one or all of them. I could give you a short bio on any of them to help you decide. This is something no one ever did for me, at your age, and I’m operating on the hypothesis that this is why I burned out too young, and why some other people — K, H, E, A, L, R and R — did not, that they each had bona fide mentors at critical times in their young adulthoods.

Lent 2020 — Day 19

Some ramblings/reflections on COVID-19

The Challenge/Invitation: a note from Ruth —

This morning, at a very quiet Rainbow Mennontie Church, I flipped through the Rainbow directory as I prayed, made some calls, and sent some emails. During my call with Fred Smith he said he is also praying for everyone and added, “I’m 95 years old and I ain’t ever seen anything like this!” What a time. Praying for all.

This week’s gospel lesson is about Jesus and a blind man (John 9). I thought we could co-write a sermon together this week.

Please consider this question: How are you seeing life differently these days, as a result of COVID-19 pandemic? What are  you observing, noticing, and feeling as a result? And if this is impacting your faith, how so? Joe Duerksen, for example, said he finds himself taking stock of what he has, “checking back on what really counts.”

What about you? Please reflect on that question and if you want to email me with your reflections (whether in word or picture form), please feel free to do so. I will not share your reflections with others without your permission.

Thank you and may the God of love and new vision be with us all.

My Response: some ramblings and reflections —

I’m amazed at how fast the world can react when a threat seems imminent. And how some of us are tempted to find scapegoats and lay blame. And how some already are listing lessons learned. And how most of us are complying with self-isolation and social distancing.

It gives me hope that we will muddle through future crises, including climate change, but probably too late to “flatten the curve” or as some others have described the goal as a “soft landing.”

And it gives me confirmation that our current obsessions — with building a wall, or protecting the 2nd Amendment, or banning abortions, or maintaining capital punishment, or building nuclear weapons, or maximizing economic growth — are completely irrelevant in the big picture of things.

And the social cohesion we get from our churches — that can persist, with effort — and makes all the difference. Folks without family may have church, and folks without church may have family, but folks with both are doubly blessed, and folks with neither are at great risk.