Faith in a Time of Pandemic
()
About this ebook
How can we respond spiritually when a pandemic hits our nation? How can our faith help us to face our fears, going beyond panic and denial, to hopeful and courageous action?
The Coronavirus is changing everything in our society. It can provoke isolation and self-interested individualism. It can also inspire kindness, generosity, patience, and compassion. Facing the pandemic with God as our companion will deepen our sense of agency as well as peace and move us from self-interest and nation-first to planetary loyalty.
This text provides a theological, pastoral, and spiritual pathway to help you, your family, and congregation find your way through the wilderness of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Read more from Bruce G. Epperly
The Mystic in You: Discovering a God-Filled World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGalatians; A Participatory Study Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Spiritual Decluttering: 40 Days to Spiritual Transformation and Planetary Healing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPiglet's Process: Process Theology for All God's Children Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Transforming Acts: Acts of the Apostles as a 21st Century Gospel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMessy Incarnation: Meditations on Christ in Process Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTaking a Walk with Whitehead: Meditations with Process-Relational Theology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPhilippians: A Participatory Study Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsImmersion Bible Studies: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHealing Marks Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Prophet Amos Speaks to America: Ancient Wisdom for Contemporary Politics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFinding God in Suffering: A Journey with Job Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Angels, Mysteries, and Miracles: A Progressive Vision Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLetters to My Grandson: Gaining Wisdom from a Fresh Perspectives Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe God of Tomorrow: Whitehead And Teilhard on Metaphysics, Mysticism, And Mission Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWalking with Francis of Assisi: From Privilege to Activism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChurch Ahead: Moving Forward with Congregational Spiritual Practices Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLove in a Time of Crisis and Pandemic: Messages for Our Children and Grandchildren Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHope Beyond Pandemic Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Faith in a Time of Pandemic
Titles in the series (52)
What Protestants Need to Know about Roman Catholics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHolistic Spirituality: Life Transforming Wisdom from the Letter of James Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Authorship of Hebrews: The Case for Paul Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Forgiveness: Finding Freedom from Your Past Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Caregiver's Beatitudes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Authority of Scripture in a Postmodern Age: Some Help from Karl Barth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRuth and Esther: Women of Agency and Adventure Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhat Is Wrong with Social Justice Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Eucharist: Encounters with Jesus at the Table Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What Roman Catholics Need to Know about Protestants Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStewardship: God's Way of Recreating the World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTo Date or Not to Date: What the Bible Says about Premarital Relationships Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Cup of Cold Water: Being Jesus to the "Least of These" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRendering unto Caesar: Examining What Jesus Said About Giving God What Is His Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJonah: When God Changes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsProcess Theology: Embracing Adventure with God Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Those Footnotes in Your New Testament: A Textual Criticism Primer for Everyone Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhy Christians Should Care about Their Jewish Roots Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom Here to Eternity:: Preparing for the Next Adventure Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI'm Right and You're Wrong: Why we disagree about the Bible and what to do about it Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPathways to Prayer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Short Critique of Climate Change Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTo Be or Not To Be: The Adventure of Christian Existentialism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom Words of Woe to Unbelievable News:: Alternative Voices for the Lenten Journey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChristianity: The Basics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Energy of Love: Reiki and Christian Healing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsProcess and Ministry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsProcess Theology and Celtic Wisdom Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsProcess Spirituality: Practicing Holy Adventure Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOne World: The Lord's Prayer from a Process Perspective Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related ebooks
Love in a Time of Crisis and Pandemic: Messages for Our Children and Grandchildren Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReflections: Covid-19, Bible, and Theology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Seven Words Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHope Beyond Pandemic Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCharity Detox: What Charity Would Look Like If We Cared About Results Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bonhoeffer and King: Their Legacies And Import For Christian Social Thought Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Unforgivable Sin: Spiritual Formation Through Forgiveness, Repentance, and Reconciliation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGlobalization and Theology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Community of Character: Toward a Constructive Christian Social Ethic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Forgiveness and Reconciliation in the Aftermath of Abuse Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSeasons of the Christian Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChristian Theology for a Secular Society: Singing the Lord's Song in a Strange Land Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFinding God among Our Neighbors: An Interfaith Systematic Theology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Next Reformation: Why Evangelicals Must Embrace Postmodernity Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Hope and Community: A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World, vol. 5 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What Shall We Do?: Eschatology and Ethics in Luke-Acts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Gifts of the Small Church Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Seeds of the Church: Towards an Ecumenical Baptist Ecclesiology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCan a Renewal Movement Be Renewed?: Questions for the Future of Ecumenism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConnect. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Faith of St. Paul: Transformative Gift of Divine Power Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Pandemic and the Church Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Theology for the Twenty-First Century Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStraining at the Oars: Case Studies in Pastoral Leadership Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just Politics: A Guide for Christian Engagement Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPreaching for the Contemporary Service Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBecoming a Disciple Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsInstant Expert: Jesus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Guide to New Testament Rhetorical Questions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Christianity For You
Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Law of Connection: Lesson 10 from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mere Christianity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Four Loves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Good Boundaries and Goodbyes: Loving Others Without Losing the Best of Who You Are Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Changes That Heal: Four Practical Steps to a Happier, Healthier You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Screwtape Letters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries Workbook: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex: Creating a Marriage That's Both Holy and Hot Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Enoch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wild at Heart Expanded Edition: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5NIV, Holy Bible Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries with Kids: How Healthy Choices Grow Healthy Children Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stories We Tell: Every Piece of Your Story Matters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Undistracted: Capture Your Purpose. Rediscover Your Joy. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I'll Start Again Monday: Break the Cycle of Unhealthy Eating Habits with Lasting Spiritual Satisfaction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sacred Enneagram: Finding Your Unique Path to Spiritual Growth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Faith in a Time of Pandemic
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Faith in a Time of Pandemic - Bruce G. Epperly
Faith
In a Time of Pandemic
Bruce Epperly
Energion Publications
Gonzalez, Florida
2020
Copyright © 2020, Bruce Epperly
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U. S. A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scriptures marked PA are the author’s paraphrase.
ISBN: 978-1-63199-462-3
eISBN: 978-1-63199-464-7
Energion Publications
PO Box 841
Gonzalez, FL 32560
https://energion.com
pubs@energion.com
Table of Contents
Introduction The Living of These Days 1
Chapter One Faith with All Our Fears 5
Chapter Two Faith That Has Said Its Prayers 12
Chapter Three All the Wrong Answers 18
Chapter Four God is with You 27
Chapter Five We are Connected 31
Chapter Six A Time for Kindness 35
Introduction
The Living of These Days
This morning I arose before sunrise, went out on my patio and gazed at stars light-years beyond Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where I call home. A few hours later, after a time of morning meditation and writing, I headed to Craigville Beach for my daily walk. It was a glorious morning. Bright and cheery as the sun rose over Hyannis Port and Nantucket on the horizon. All was well with the world as I took my solitary walk. But this morning something was different. On my way home, I stopped at the local gas station to fill up a five-gallon gas can just in case the stations would be closed in the future.
This Sunday would be different. I would be broadcasting our worship service online. Our leadership had decided to suspend worship for the next two weeks, and then reevaluate our worship and programming activities due to concerns over COVID-19, the Coronavirus. I pondered as I began a two-week period, minimally, of self-sequestering with my family, apart from walks in the woods and beaches. Absenting from worship, meetings, eating out, and my favorite coffee house, I would be ordering my groceries online to be delivered at home later in the week. Life is different today. Even more so than the days following September 11, 2011. Our lives are physically and relationally smaller, and we are afraid.
We are coming to terms for what we hope is the temporary new normal.
We also fear that in some ways our lives will change forever. We know the dangers of denial. Governmental denial has rendered us unprepared for this crisis and our government is now playing catch up with medical tests, institutional regulations, vaccine research, and respirators. We have come to realize that fear is equally dangerous in not only suppressing our immune systems, poisoning our relationships, and destroying the fabric of society and government. As the day progressed and the governor of Massachusetts, the state where I live, called on the state to close restaurants, bars, and ban gatherings with over 25 persons, the reality of this new normal
set in. In many households, denial and fear morphed into depression and anger, and the reality that the world has radically changed and we weren’t prepared for it politically, economically, spiritually, or emotionally. We are behind the curve and need to change our ways of thinking and action before it’s too late!
1 John 4:18 asserts that there is no fear in love, perfect love casts out all fear.
As Thomas Paine says, these are the times that try men’s souls
— and not just men’s souls! These are times in which faith and fear join in the quest for hopeful action and compassionate care in responding to real crises that threaten everything we hold dear. We can live by fear, closing the circle of love to include only those in our immediate families and letting the rest of the world go to hell. We can live also by love. Love that is prudent, but also generous and