What has the latest round of lockdowns provoked in you? Most of us are feeling loss to some degree, but, if you’re anything like me, you’re also waking up feeling more aware of your own personal frustrations, starting the day with a touch of resentment at the same old scenery, and finishing your day feeling the horizons of your life drawing closer in: just my own walls, my people, my three meals, my bed.
Would you give away your last bit of change to help someone in need? What if it was all you had to live on?
The month of January doesn’t have the best reputation when it comes to mental health. This year especially, when so many more people are isolated and vulnerable, it’s an ideal moment to consider how we could give our time and resources to help those suffering from depression and anxiety.
So you’re planning a church capital appeal. Or perhaps you are already knee-deep in it. My guess is that you are likely to be processing any number of thoughts.
You may be wondering if the plans you were making last year have any meaning in the context of…you know what. Or you might be thinking that this is the ideal time to push ahead with a capital appeal – after-all, the options for using your building are limited these days, and who knows when you will get another opportunity to deliver building works that won’t inconvenience your congregation?
As Christians we are commanded to ‘Love our Neighbour’ but how can you do this while isolated at home?
It may surprise you to hear that I believe we are loving our neighbour more than ever in these times. Let me give you three examples:
If the pandemic has turned your circumstances upside down, if you’ve lost loved ones or your livelihood, or even if you’re just finding life lonely at the moment, then you may be able to relate to some of the pain that Naomi was suffering in the book of Ruth.
My niece works for a large supermarket chain and has been involved in designing the Christmas Advert campaign. Usually, ideas are agreed many months ahead, but the opportunity was given to wait a bit longer, to be more reflective, and to focus the message on what really matters this year.
What if all of us were able to pause and focus a bit more in this season?
The space in my diary has created time and energy to think differently about this year and how to share that good news of Jesus coming amongst us. Our front doors may be closed but we can think imaginatively about how to be generous, to bless our neighbours and to give in this extraordinary time.
On 28 October 2019, there was a terrible road accident in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. A Rocha CEO Chris Naylor and his wife Suzanna were killed, along with Miranda Harris, one of A Rocha’s founders. Her husband Peter was critically injured and a year on continues the slow journey of recovery and grief.
Whatever Boaz may have gone through in the time of famine, he was doing well as a landowner when we meet him in the Bible, despite the frequent wars and political upheaval of the time.
The pandemic has left some of us in a strangely better financial position than before: people who have been able to keep jobs but have far less expenses. Covid-19 has drawn even bigger gaps between those who are comfortable and those who are struggling and it can be overwhelming to see so much need around us.
blogs by the Stewardship team and selected guest writers.
Stewardship is the operating name of Stewardship Services (UKET) Limited. Established in 1906.
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