Dear Church Family,
As I look out the window in March, I am able to see the snow softly falling from the trees. It is a gentle, peaceful scene. It reminds me that spring is not far away. Although it is cold the sun is shining.
It has been 3 years since Covid 19 was first discovered in our area. It was the beginning of the Pandemic. So much has changed since that time. We all know people who have suffered the illness, or we have ourselves. We remember the times we felt isolated and afraid to leave our homes because of the illness. Today, because of the vaccinations and the tireless work of our medical community we feel that we can move around more freely, and to be with our friends and family in a more relaxed and natural manner. However, there have been long lasting effects of the Pandemic.
In an article in the Globe and Mail on March 11 2023, Elisabeth de Mariaffi wrote “ have you been feeling uneasy lately?” She lives in St. John’s Newfoundland, where she never had locked the front door. She felt safe and protected by her dog who acted as a guard dog. But she writes that in the past few months she has started locking her door. She had hoped that things were getting better. One of her friends had developed a fear of flying, another told her she had terrible anxiety and had an attack so severe that she had to lie down in a public place. She herself has suffered from anxiety all her life. As a young woman she would sit up half the night until about 5 am when she would collapse to sleep.
She says that her dog was her constant companion in her fear. Her dog carried her fear for her. She could go anywhere with her dog by her side, because she was never really alone. She and her dog, while out walking together, saw many lovely sunrises and sunsets together. Her dog died in January, and she said that from that day on she felt unsafe.
So many of us have been changed by the past 3 years since the Pandemic began. We may have felt anxiety and fear which we have not known before. We may not know what we are fearful of. The view outside the window had not changed that much.
The promise of Easter and the rebirth of the Earth is the assurance that we are never alone.
It is the assurance that when we are able to focus upon the joy and the gifts that are with us in this moment, instead of our fear of the unknown, we will know peace.
Something was taken from us during the Pandemic, but we are recovering.
We need to unlock the doors again and let hope in.
At the tomb on Easter morning, where Mary has gone to find the body of Jesus she hears “woman why are you weeping?” Jesus said to her “Mary”.
May we know the eternal peace and joy of this blessed Easter season.
Reverend Kathleen Mowat