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Grief Expressed
Psalm 139:1-12,17,18

Picture
       Our reading from Psalm 139 reminds us of two very important things: God knows all about us, and God thinks about us constantly.  Isn’t that wonderful and reassuring to know?  It reminds me of what it’s like to have a close friend or family member.  Do they have a good awareness of what’s happening in your life?  Do they think of you often? When we love someone, these are things that happen naturally. 
       Now let’s turn this around.  Do people who care about us stay by our side in our hard times?  Do you have friends and family who are just a phone call away - they will listen or come and see you?  Will they pray for you?     
       As I begin today’s message, I want us all to be mindful of the tremendous gift it is to have caring friends and a God who loves us.  They are meant to be a part of our life on our best days, and on our ordinary ones.  But I think we can all agree, they are such blessings when our world is turned upside down.  
       Has COVID-19 turned your world upside down?  Back on March 20, 2020, we had very little knowledge about this frightening virus.  Soon, though, we were disinfecting everything, having our temperature taken, isolating at home and social distancing in public.  It’s been 2 ¼ long years since then; variants keep emerging and we continue to search for vaccines to protect us, along with other measures. 
      COVID has wreaked havoc in every area of our daily lives.  Would you agree?  So much of what’s we’ve lived through has been stressful and unpredictable.  Remember the never-ending updates on the news about how many people had died, or where ventilators needed to be sent?  Or the countless countries that had no access to vaccines or medical care in general?  There were acres of newly- buried bodies.  The number of those who have died is so large today, does it even feel real to us?  Yet we do know it’s all happened.  Families have wept over the loss of a child; spouses have died; parents, several people in a family have died. We’ve lost neighbors, friends, people in our church family.  Grief has left none of us untouched.      
       I have long felt we all need a time, a place, and a way to lament, to grieve together before God.  We haven’t done that as a church. I’ve never had a way to do it either.   I first believed we’d get to the other side of COVID… now I accept it’s a pandemic that will likely end up being called endemic, something that is always with us. 
      So today I want to lead us through a time of remembering.  You’ll see a category of loss on our worship screen.  I’ll name some of the ways we may have struggled in this area.  As losses are named, you’ll see blocks from this JENGA tower slowly pulled out.  They represent what is gone or greatly changed during COVID.  There will be 4 categories of loss, and after each one, please join in a unison lament.  The words will be on the worship screen.  We’ll practice this lament once through before we start.  As a reminder, this is your opportunity to give voice to your personal griefs and losses before God.      
 
LAMENT:
Leader:    O God, You who see us, think about us, and know us completely, hear our lament:
 
We’ve lived through difficult days. 
We’ve been scared and felt alone.  
Some people have died, and all have cried. 
We are weary and wary,
What losses we’ve had, what griefs we’ve carried.
 
O God, steady our steps, and strengthen our spirit,
Heal our brokenness and revive our spirits.
Remind us that You see us, know us, and will provide for us.
We will trust in You, O God, we will continue to trust in You.     

 
    You’ve probably noticed a tower of stacked Jenga blocks up front this morning.  I want you to imagine that it represents your life.   Right now, it looks solid; it seems in alignment.  There’s no obvious weakness that could cause instability.  Most days, I think most of us have our “Jenga blocks” together, stacked up in reasonable balance.  But not always - we each have personal struggles and situations that affect our life’s “tower”.   So, listen for a bit, and watch, see if you can relate…

COVID and Education
  •  Remote instruction in the USA, for 55 million kids in K-12th grade.
  • No access to a computer and/or Internet services for 60% of Black and Hispanic students.
  • Zero instruction for 3 million youth who are homeless, in foster care, a non-Native speaker, or have disabilities.
  • Teachers moved to online instruction, many untrained or lacking equipment; their jobs became much more stressful.
  • Academic achievement dropped significantly for most students - they learned a lot less.
  • Youth couldn’t participate in sports; they had no music or art education.
  • All school clubs stopped meeting.
  • Many vulnerable students didn’t receive free breakfasts or lunches at school.
  • Isolation from peers and others triggered depression and anxiety for many youth. 
  • Any student who lost a parent, sibling, or someone close to them from COVID experienced grief, but often lacked peer and community support.  
  • There’s a growing need for mental health counselors and programs for youth, but that need far exceeds the number of available counselors.      
 (LAMENT)
 
COVID and the Workplace
  •  By April 2020, one month in, 20 million people in the U.S. were not going to work.
  • Essential workers had to show up and provide services:  grocery workers, medical personnel, police, fire fighters, EMS, those picking up garbage, delivering mail, or transporting goods. 
  • Long hours, concern about getting COVID, and isolating from family caused stress and burnout.   
  • Many on the front lines were in high-risk jobs but lacked adequate masks and protection.  Many got COVID; a large number tragically died. 
  • 71% of workers went online, mostly those with white collar jobs and a college education.  Today 60% still do “telework”, mostly by choice.
  • Wearing informal clothes while working at home was a popular trend.
  • Most who worked from home believed they weren’t fairly considered for promotions or pay raises. 
  • Many workers missed interacting with co-workers.   
  • The Great Resignation continues: workers want higher wages, safer workplaces, and better treatment on the job.   
 (LAMENT)
 
COVID and Our Social Lives
  •  Restaurants closed their doors and turned off their utilities.
  • Travel plans were cancelled; staycations and doing outdoor activities became popular.     
  • Our happiest occasions - weddings, baptisms, birthday parties and retirement celebrations - were postponed; some just passed by and couldn’t be shared with others. 
  • Holiday time with family and friends didn’t happen for many - no large meals or socializing.
  • Live sporting events were cancelled; re-runs ran instead. 
  • Libraries and stores closed their doors. 
  • All music concerts and theater programs were cancelled.
  • Arts programs and museums closed.
  • Youth weren’t able to go to summer camps.
  • A lot of people decided to adopt a pet; neighbors walking dogs became a much more common sight.
 (LAMENT)
 
COVID and Church
  •  Our front doors were locked on Sunday mornings. Worship was cancelled.
  • Sermons and worship experiences were eventually put online, but many couldn’t access these.
  • Our church family and friends were all sad; we missed seeing each other, receiving Holy Communion, singing hymns together, and sharing coffee hour.
  • Most of our ministry teams became inactive; a few functioned at a minimal level.   
  • Our Sunday School and Youth groups were stopped.
  • We grieved not being in church on Christmas Eve or Easter Sunday.
  • Financial support for the church decreased and no fundraisers were held.
  • When there was a death, calling hours and funerals were cancelled, abbreviated, or sometimes not held at all.
  • When church re-opened, COVID precautions of masking and distancing were difficult; it felt unnatural for most of us.  
  • Our Food Pantry remained open.  We loved serving others and strongly supported this ministry but it was necessary to limit who could work.
 (LAMENT)
 
       As our newest COVID variants B.4 and B.5 spread across our state and elsewhere, I think it’s likely we’re on the verge of increased precautions, which in turn often limit our choices.  With each new wave, we’ll experience loss and heartache, worry and frustration, won’t we?  When events begin to overwhelm us, let’s make the time to lament.  God, who knows and sees us, wants us to come to Him in prayer.  When we do, I find that often an exchange takes place.  When we lay our burdens down, God helps us feel lighter in our spirit.  It’s like the calmness that comes after taking in a deep breath and releasing it.  God will give us peace and comfort.  And God also helps take our focus away from where it’s been and redirect our thoughts toward all that is good, hopeful, and right in our lives and circumstances today!   
      God is good!  Let’s continue to put our full trust in Him!  Amen.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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