Skip to content
Finding Hope in Times of Anguish and Distress

Finding Hope in Times of Anguish and Distress

By Rev. Cameron Trimble, author, Piloting Church: Helping Your Congregation Take Flight"
As a pastor and national faith leader, I've been considering what leadership in the Church looks like in the face of a global pandemic. What is our work to do?

I come back to the book of Acts 2: 

They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers. Everyone around was in awe - all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person's need was met. They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. (Acts 2:42-47)

This week I hosted an online conversation with my colleagues Diana Butler BassBrian McLarenTraci Blackmon and Jacqui Lewis on "What Will Happen to Our Churches?." During the conversation, as we were lamenting the disruptions to churches, Traci Blackman reminded us that there’s an old saying in some African American communities: when white folks catch a cold, black folks get pneumonia. She went on to say that the way we get through this is that those who have salaried jobs and more stability have to look out for those who don't. We will need to be each others keepers."

Her message is entirely counter-cultural to white communities. Our behavior suggests we believe capitalism to be the greatest religion. But when she said that to our group, every cell in my body knew she was right. She was reminding us of the early church in Acts. Ultimately, she was reminding us of the Way of Jesus.

As we face these difficult days ahead, I encourage you to trust that you have enough to share. And if you don't, trust that you can ask for help and your community will respond with love and generosity. If we can't do this very basic thing for each other - show up for each other in our times of greatest need - then what are we doing calling ourselves Christians anyway? 

We are in this together.

Prayer for the Week

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today.


St. Patrick's Breastplate, an Irish Blessing

Cameron Trimble is the Executive Director and CEO of Convergence (formerly the Center for Progressive Renewal). Her ministry in national and regional church settings has given her a unique perspective on the challenges of cultivating leaders equipped to meet the needs of the future of mainline Protestantism. Rev. Trimble is an adjunct professor teaching church planting and renewal with the Pacific School of Religion and Chicago Theological Seminary and co-author of Liberating Hope.
Previous article Why We’re Publishing “Remember Me When…”
x

Liquid error (layout/theme line 181): Could not find asset snippets/quantity-breaks-now.liquid