A Message from Jon

Hello from my apartment! 

This week is likely to be a significant one in the ongoing development of returning to “normal”. With previous weeks having brought expanded bubbles to some of us and to others a renewed sense of the need for safety and to stay isolated. It seems to me that there are challenges and joys that come with every step of our societal journey towards “normal”. 

To be honest, I had hoped to talk about something other than the pandemic. It seems to me that my mind is quite clogged with the current climate of things. In many ways I think we could all use a break from the constant news cycle of active cases, current closures, and upcoming openings. 

I want a break from it but to take a break would ignore so many lessons and opportunities to grow and learn. 

How many of us have taken this time and spent more time in our Bibles? How many of us have had a more regular “attendance” at our online services? The fact that you are reading this letter now shows that you have an interest in the life of our church and have continued to stay connected. 

As we reach the later stages of our experience with the pandemic (I don’t presume that things will come to a close quickly - but they will change quickly), I can not help but wonder what parts of my current routine will stick. I also wonder which of the larger social accommodations will stick. 

For many businesses, will employees be able to work from home? Will families spend more time together? Will our church services always have a place online? Will we spend more time on phone calls or video chats as we have these past weeks? 

Most importantly, will we spend as much time with God as we have these past weeks?

One of my favourite tools during the COVID-19 pandemic has been the YouVersion Bible app. It’s on my phone and lets me highlight and make notes on many different translations of the Bible. There is even a social component where users can add friends and see their highlighted verses or share prayer requests. During the pandemic, YouVersion’s use has skyrocketed. The company says that user engagement is the highest it’s ever been and that they have received over 1.6 million prayer requests through the app - all of which are prayed for by volunteers and friends. 

The Bible app is just one space where I have seen God bring people closer to Him and closer to each other at this time where we could have easily been separated. We have all had to be creative in adapting our professional lives (many people navigating the loss of work), personal lives, and spiritual lives. As our societal response to the pandemic change and hopefully continues to bring improvements by the will of God, I’m reminded of Psalm 98, 

'Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. '

We have all had to “sing a new song to the Lord” as we adapted to new restrictions and new allowances in the many stages of COVID-19. As we continue to do our best and follow the best practices we have got to remember the growth that has taken place in our personal lives. 

I don’t want things to go totally back to normal. I don’t want to return to my bad habits and neglect the good habits God has been cultivating in me during this time. This has been a hard time for many, and as the Bible app statistics indicate, a time where people have needed prayer. As things improve we will still need prayer, we will still need connection, and we will still need God’s saving grace.

I can’t wait for the day that we can meet at a coffee shop, give each other a hug or a handshake and talk about what God is doing in our lives. Until then, we have to continue to invite God to work in our lives! That is my prayer, that we would all be drawn closer towards God and that our lives would be an outpouring of the marvelous love that He has shown to us through Jesus Christ. 

I can’t wait to hear about what God has done for you!

Jon