Sunday Worship Package for March 22, 2020 (Immanuel United Church, Winnipeg)

Caring Community in a No-Touch World

Worship and Prayer in Time of Pandemic

(Before beginning worship, consider setting a time and place apart to be with God. You may wish to call a church friend and read through the service together, or gather your family around. This challenging time gives us an opportunity to worship with those who don’t usually attend on Sundays. Remember that we are still connected by the Spirit. You are not alone. We are not alone. Thanks be to God.)

Begin by lighting a candle if you have one and if it’s safe to do so in your place.

Take a few deep breaths trusting that God is with you in the here and now…. In …. Out …. In …. Out …. and one more time in …. and out.

Opening Prayer

Caring God, 

we acknowledge before you our fears;

we acknowledge before you our anxieties;

we acknowledge before you our doubts.

Help us to recognize in the depths of our being 

that we are not alone,

but that you are truly present in this extraordinary time.

We pray that you might ease our burdens

by the assurance of your companionship,

by the knowledge of your abiding love,

and by the hope we share in Jesus Christ,

in whose name we pray.  Amen. 

(From Celebrating God’s Presence, A Book of Services for The United Church of Canada)

VU 639 One More Step Along the World I Go

(Click this link or type on Google: bit.ly/VU639)

Poem: Pandemic by Lynn Ungar

What if you thought of it

as the Jews consider the Sabbath—

the most sacred of times?

Cease from travel.

Cease from buying and selling.

Give up, just for now,

on trying to make the world

different than it is.

Sing. Pray. Touch only those

to whom you commit your life.

Center down.

And when your body has become still,

reach out with your heart.

Know that we are connected

in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.

(You could hardly deny it now.)

Know that our lives

are in one another’s hands.

(Surely, that has come clear.)

Do not reach out your hands.

Reach out your heart.

Reach out your words.

Reach out all the tendrils

of compassion that move, invisibly,

where we cannot touch.

Promise this world your love–

for better or for worse,

in sickness and in health,

so long as we all shall live.

Scripture: John 9:1-7

As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.

Reflection  (by Min-Goo Kang, the minister at Fort Garry UC) 

In a time like this we need someone who can guide us through, someone who can model how to be a non-anxious presence in anxious times. The last thing we want in this pandemic is to be impatient with each other while judging, blaming or shaming. I have observed over the last few weeks how one’s fear turned into doubt, distrust or dispute. When we act out of anxiety, we tend to create unnecessary distance even with those we care about. Practicing social distancing doesn’t mean that we should stop practicing generosity and caring for others, especially those who are vulnerable. 

Jesus denounces the disciples’ quick judgement toward a man blind from birth. Perhaps, finding someone to blame is their coping mechanism. By asking who is at fault, they express their desire to comprehend why things are the way things are. It’s in our human nature to seek certainty and clarity while facing uncertainty and confusion. Jesus, however, doesn’t give them what they are looking for. Instead, he invites them to be open to what might be revealed through God’s works. It takes courage and patience to stay in the unknown. 

I find myself asking what Jesus would do in a situation like this. I imagine his non-anxious presence that would soothe our anxiety, fear and uncertainty. Jesus may not be able to tell us what we are looking for: why things are the way things are, for how long we should suffer from social distancing, whether it is ever possible for us to go back to the life we once knew. Instead, he will invite us to stay in the unknown long enough to see what will be revealed through God’s works. Christ will give us the gift of the abiding presence throughout these challenging times. That would be good enough for us now so we can continue to practice our faith, caring for one another.

Questions to Ponder (by Ha Na Park) 

When we walk into a wilderness or a situation of emergency, our priorities must shift. When we enter an unexpected, unsettling time, those extraordinary moments that are separate and distinct from the familiar reveal to us the needs we haven’t examined up to this particular stage of our life’s ongoing journey and path.  

Ponder within yourself or share with your partner who you are called to be and what the priorities or needs are that you discover and find when you set yourself aside in silence or spiritual solitude. 

Prayers of the People

God, today we pray for your presence. We pray that we will spend less time doing and more time being. That our minds will not be preoccupied with goals but rather, simple compassion for ourselves and each other. That we find ourselves in a moment of empathy or joy, unplanned and unexpected. We also pray for the many faces and hearts who are dear to us. For our family members, our friends both near and far, and those feeling unwell in body, mind or heart. We pray that they may feel your comfort and closeness. 

I invite you to lift up your intentions to God in this moment of silence…

God, in these times we know that faith, hope and love mean more than a daily list of accomplishments. We pray that we meet our current circumstances with deep breaths and stillness and that we can reach out to others with our hearts and our intentions. God, we pray that you guide us to share your love.

Amen.

VU 651 Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah  (V 1 & 2)

(Click this link or type on Google: bit.ly/VU651) 

Blessing

God of the wilderness,

Be with us as we wander through this desert,

Walking with us as we learn to be a caring community in a no-touch world.

Photo Credit: Joyce Cosby

Ha Na Park

Immanuel United Church

Sermon: Why Toilet Paper?, March 15, 2020

Sermon: Why Toilet Paper?

Text: Genesis 9:8-17

You might have seen some timely jokes on your social media feed or elsewhere recently. In one of them, a doctor says, “Unfortunately the test came back positive for COVID-19. You have coronavirus.” The man answers, “I can’t be sick. I have over 40 cases of bottled water and 200 rolls of toilet paper.” 

Do you get it? I tried hard for the last few days to really understand the humour, but I still don’t get it. I think I kind of get it now, but – not really. I am still wondering to myself, “Why toilet paper?” (I would understand if it is a hand soup or tooth paste. You would definitely need them if you are quarantined.) 

Since the announcement was made that Manitoba identified its first case of COVID-19, I saw that a few friends of mine were sharing pictures online of empty toilet paper sections in stores. Toilet paper, actually gone, in virtually all the stores in Winnipeg! 

What’s interesting to me is that I had never seen or heard of that happening - toilet paper gone that quick and that fast. I haven’t heard any word about toilet paper from Korea, one of the first places to get hit hard with the Coronavirus. In Korea, it was all about facial masks. Everyone got freaked out about getting masks. I understand that if you go out without having your mask on in Korea, even if you do not have any symptoms, you would get criticized a lot, and deemed dangerous and irresponsible. A friend of mine, a high school friend, who still lives in my hometown, Gwang-ju, - it’s a big city, bigger than Winnipeg, and so far it has had only 4 confirmed cases - shared with 10 of us in the group chat, a picture she took when she went down to a rural smaller town, to buy masks for her family, because she heard that the post office still had masks to sell. And when she got there, she found a hundred people waiting in a long line outside the post office - every one of them with a mask on their face - . You can certainly ask, “Why masks?” 

What I glimpse from these stories is that fear is cultural; its expression is culturally based. (For example, “toilet paper” - super personal Hygiene sensitive culture - vs. “masks” - super social Appearance sensitive culture - ) The ways to control the spreading of this disease - regardless of its success - whether it is through “lockdown” (in China) or “tracking” (in Korea) - are closely related to the way different cultures operate.

Here in Canada, especially in Winnipeg now, we are taking individual and proactive measures based on social/physical distancing: trusting individuals and communities to make socially responsible decisions by limiting social interactions and suspending social events, in hopes of protecting our most vulnerable citizens. These proactive acts of care will be critical in slowing down the spread of the disease. (And maybe we can reap the benefit of slowing down ourselves.) Susan Lukey, a United Church minister in Calgary, shared a message with her congregation last Thursday, saying, “Slow down. To slow down my reactions, I take a moment about once an hour to remind myself that all is good in my life right now. I take a deep breath. I remind myself that I really am safe at this moment. I enjoy the sunshine (or the snow). I think of my beloved husband, sons & mother. I repeat to myself the words of the mystic, Julian of Norwich (1342-1416). She says, “All shall be well. All shall be well. And all manner of things shall be well.” And I believe her, for she lived through the bubonic plague that swept England from 1348-1350. She lived a positive philosophy in perilous times.

At this point, when both coronavirus and fear are pandemic, I would invite us to ponder two things. 

The first - and I know that this question has been already asked and shared on-line: “Why are we taking this disease more seriously than climate change?” “Why have we not taken climate risks to heart?” We haven’t seen mass responses like ‘toilet papers’ and ‘masks’ - as expressions of our fear as well as our necessity - towards climate action. Can you think of any massive, crazy, spontaneous responses to fight climate change? 

The common-sense precautions in each case have been widely known - washing our hands more thoroughly and more often - which may be equivalent to driving less, flying less - all of these an individual decision. To put it in other words, simple house rules: smaller fossil fuel footprints! Less greenhouse gas emissions! To keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius. Individual actions put together in collaboration and social agreement might work just the same way that “social distancing” would work. We are being told right now that individual action can make a huge difference – let’s channel that action into staving off the most catastrophic, pandemic effects of climate change. (People see the climate crisis as being in the future, not something we are facing now.) 

We might think, those individual actions are worth nothing if the system doesn’t change - a great excuse. But at least about this pandemic, we believe social distancing will slow down, and change the course of the disease. Why not think about slowing down or changing the course of climate change? Change is hard when there are powerful industries blocking it, when the engines of money drive political power and popular thought.

As people of faith, we are encouraged to really think about our engines - the ones that run our individual, daily, social and political lives. We call them world views or faith. In times of stress, like now, we show through our actions what our world views are and what we actually really believe. Right now, with both coronavirus and climate change, we are going into a wilderness situation. We are standing at the edge of the city, a little bit like those ones who “walked away from Omelas”. (Reference: Ursula K. Le Guin's 4 page short story, "The Ones Who Walked Away from Omelas.) Those who left, left with nothing; what would it mean if we walked away from Omelas with a year’s worth of toilet paper - just for us or our family? When we hoard, we are not living in faith; we are really just taking Omelas - the city - with us. If we don’t live now, in faith, choosing to buy no more than what we need, there will be no change. We power the engine of consumerism, of distrust, of greed. Systems only change when we change ourselves, our patterns, our “box”es of toilet papers - the “box”es of more and more, and bigger and bigger, faster and faster, convenience, complacency, and comfort. The boxes of individualism, status quo, entitlement, apathy. 

Social distancing is based on trusting each individual’s and each organization’s decisions and ethical social responsibilities. It’s a really good practice that draws its strength from individual choices to give up a little personally for the good of all. And yet we can go deeper than that. True success in fighting COVID-19 and climate change might require a worldview change as well. Rather than praising the strength of individualism, we can also look at our interdependent nature as human communities and co-inhabitants who share our home - the earth - with all human communities and living-moving beings who are inseparable to the health of rocks, oceans, water and air, just like us. When one of us is sick, (explain and demonstrate a model in action) if we have held the next person’s hand in a circle – (metaphorically holding hands) supporting one another as family — we can’t stand upright in our position when another person gets sick and has to sit. Our posture changes - leaning towards the sick, our two feet move. Our eyes (which may have been facing the front) move to see the collapsed. Our children and the children’s children are in the heart of the centre and here we are to care for and love them. It seems that there are fundamentally different worldviews in our time: the box worldview - based on hierarchy, positions and distance - and the circle worldview that operates on deep interconnections of each individual and their social roles like family interlocking through care. 

Whether we are in the coronavirus wilderness or climate change wilderness, if we walked away from Omelas, as a community, we should think first, how we can be a community of faith, with a different world view - a complete departure from the city of Omelas - in a new era that calls for resurgent faith.

Ha Na Park

Immanuel United Church