Wesley Journal: Seminary in a Time of Pandemics

Wesley Journal

Seminary

In a Time Of Pandemics

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I S S U E

1

pan·dem·ic /panˈdemik/ 1. adjective. prevalent over a whole country or the world.

2. noun. an outbreak of a pandemic disease.

"God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, Thou whom hast brought us thus far on the way, Thou who hast by Thy might Lead us into the light, Keep us forever in the path, we pray." (Lift Every Voice and Sing) Merciful and gracious God, You alone can heal us, our homes, and our land. We are thankful that You are mindful of us and are concerned with every detail of our lives. Thank You, God, for continuing to make ways in the wilderness and rivers in the deserts.

During this time of racial injustice, political upheaval, inequality, and loss, we ask that You would bestow upon us peace that surpasses all of our understanding. We ask that You would be a present help in the time of trouble. Holy Spirit, surround us and keep us. God, our world needs You. Our families need You. Our churches need You. Our seminary needs You. So breath on us. Gives us renewed strength, hope, and peace.

God, in the moments where we feel restless, unearthed, and afraid, comfort and reassure us that You are with us and that You will never leave us nor forsake us. God, we ask you to eradicate COVID-19 from the face of the earth and that a cure would be discovered through your wisdom that works in tandem with science. Kind God, grant peace to all of those who have lost loved ones due to this pandemic.

God, we ask for Your comfort and peace for those who have experienced loss during this time.

Whether it has been the loss of a loved one, a friend, or a job, our hope is in You. We ask that You would lift our heads and our hearts.

Cover us from the exposure of anything that would come to harm us. We pray for those who live by themselves and who may be feeling alone. God, comfort them, and let them know that You are always with them.

God continue to be a hedge of protection around our homes, families, loved ones, Wesley Theological Seminary, and our church community.

We thank You for the promises of Your word that no evil shall befall us, and no plague would come near our dwelling places.

Holy God, we thankful for these United States. We ask You to touch our government and those in authority and in leadership positions who make decisions and create laws that will impact our lives.

May those decisions be impacted and lead by Your Holy Spirit.

Let wisdom and integrity reign in the life of every leader.

God, we delight ourselves in You because You care for us. Thank You that we can cast all of our cares upon You, for Your yolk is light and your burden is easy. Today we make a conscious decision to make an exchange. We lay down anxiety in exchange for Your peace, comfort, and love. We exchange worry for increased faith. We exchange depression for the renewed joy of our salvation. We run with patience the race set before us and looking unto God, the author, and finisher of our faith.

God help us during this unsettling time to fix our minds on things above. Things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, good report, virtuous, and deserving of praise.

God, help us not grow weary in well-doing and remind us that we will reap in due season if we faint not. Steady our feet, minds, emotions, attitudes, spirits, and thoughts.

Holy One, Your word says in Psalm 138:8 that You are perfecting that which concerns us. Give us hope for a brighter tomorrow and give us the courage to march on until victory is won.

In the name of God's Holy Spirit, Amen.

Apolonia Villanueva, MSW is a first-year Masters of Divinity seminarian, CEI Fellow, and a Generation Latinx Scholarship recipient at Wesley Theological Seminary. She is a first-year representative on the Student Council and a member of the Executive Committee. Her professional objective is to be a community activist in urban settings by assuring that the voices of our underserved and marginalized populations are heard. She wants to construct supportive systems to educate, support, and build up people in the local community where she will live and serve.

WESLEY JOURNAL STAFF Editor: Evan Taylor Contributors: Apolonia Villanueva Sharon Milton Brad Duty Yenny Delgado Scott Bach-Hansen Dr. Emily Peck-McClain Techika Rhodes Rev. C. Anthony Hunt, Ph.D Lenora Whitecotton Arthur Darby Rev. Dr. Anna Petrin Rev. Dr. Asa Lee Dr. Laura Sweat Holmes Photography: Matthias Everhope Claire Coker STUDENT COUNCIL President: Everett McAllister Vice President: K Vanessa Rodriguez Secretary: Lenora Whitecotton Treasurer: Hyungsuk Oh Parliamentarian: Kirk Freeman Elected Representatives: Trent Somes Apolonia Villanueva Jon Deters Adrian Graham RaShawn Hall Heidi Mills Techika Rhodes Mira Sawlani-Joyner Erik Slingerland Paul Thorne-Keziah Adrianus Yosia Scott Bach-Hansen Fernando Castro Simon Mwilima Faculty Advisor: Dr. Rick Elgendy

Editor's Note

A L

It was a pleasure and honor to be the Editor for this semester’s Wesley Journal. This issue is a reflection of the grief and graces of the pandemic season. While this is not your traditional academic journal, the season calls for a space to grieve, process, express, and encourage one another from a diversity of theologies, perspectives, and experiences.

This time has taught us many lessons and I’m honored to share these stories, narratives, triumphs, trials, sermons, practices, and testimonies are reflected in this anthology of Seminary in a Time of Pandemics. The issue includes prayers, devotions, reflections with artistic expression, a photo spread, and a sermon. The Wesley community has brought the language to their joys and their sorrows, their injustices and their progress, and the molding, shifting, and transformation of this season and beyond.

While we grieve together from a distance, we also extend grace for one another and our practices. Your inward and outward calls are not void, even in the midst of discovering new modes and methods.

May you be aware of the presence of God in the midst of this season, may your callings be renewed, may your practices be sharpened and formed, and may your community be felt beyond the screens, phones, tablets, TVs, and social media. May you be comforted, consoled, renewed, restored, and find rest in God’s agape loving embrace.

Amen & Ase.

W GR

Evan Taylor is a first-year seminarian and CEI Fellow at Wesley. She serves as a lay leader in Youth and Young Adult ministry at Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, DC. She is passionate about the intersections of youth and young ministry and equity centered design thinking, community organizing, collectives, and cooperatives.

The Wesley Journal is a publication of the Wesley Theological Seminary Student Council. The Editor is responsible for the content. The views expressed are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Wesley Theological Seminary or the Student Council.

IN THIS ISSUE Inside Cover: A Pandemic Prayer 3 Editor's Note 4 Seminary in a Time of Pandemics 5 A Pandemic Devotional 6 Covid-19 and Inequality in the U.S. 7 Focusing on Thankfulness in the Midst of Pandemic Times 8 A Rule of Life for the Exhausted 9 A Pandemic Journal 10 The Proposition of Pandemic Possibility 11 Disorientation 12 Pandemic Realities 13 Sinking in Hope 14 Navigating Needs During and Beyond the Pandemic 15 Praying through the Pandemic 16 Physically Distant but Learning and Growing Together 17 Advent in a Time of Pandemics

Seminary in A Time of Pandemics Oh, what a year it has been for our academics, Trying to maneuver seminary in a time of pandemic, I recalled the initial shock when the doors were all shut, We just trying to figure out what this Covid 19 is really about.

Refectory, the library, the chapel, everything just closed, How will we survive, well only God knows, Class of 2020 graduation is postponed, Everything has changed and moved on to zoom, What will happen next, when will this virus be gone, But the Systematic did not have no Theology for just how long.

Ohhh yeah, we would have to trust God and follow His plans, He still has the whole world in His very hands, Making sure our Wi-Fi is working just right, for this transition to what we call the virtual world, This shift would impact, every man, every woman, every boy, and girl, The Courtyard, Snack Room, 1st floor, 2nd floor classrooms Has all been changed to links, waiting rooms, passcodes let’s all meet up on zoom, On Blackboard class assignments modules are right on time, We are making sure we get our work in by 1159, Ohhh Seminary in a time of pandemic, It has truly interrupted our normal flow of academic, But the learning never stopped, we had no excuse, In fact it's time we put what we’ve learned to some good use.

Never had this happened in the History of the Church, we had no clue, This Testament could not be found in the Old or the New, Without knowing when we will be back, We keep studying to keep us all on track, Masks on, gloves on when we leave out the house, This is mandatory to be safe we don’t have a choice, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat has become our daily meeting spot, As we miss those days, we could talk right in Wesley parking lot, Most of us are doing school and work right from our rooms, All our daily activities are done in our homes,

More time to spend with our families, that would be the test, To see if the Formation in our Spirt will lead us to that place called Sabbath rest, But just when we thought Covid 19 was disturbing our academics, All our eyes would be opened to this Racism pandemic, Forced to stay inside, we all had to turn on the news, That knee on George Floyd's neck should have given us all the blues, We could no longer be silent, NO! we had to live that Matthew 25th Chapter, When Black lives start to matter than All lives will matter, We have entered seminary and said yes to the call, These pandemics would show us, the call is bigger than in the school walls, We would wrestle with God as we face both of these pandemics, Seeking to help others outside of our academics, No, it hasn’t been all easy for me or for you, But in that Isaiah 43 text, God said He was doing something new!

Seminary in a time of pandemic has been hands-on training, Even in our Exegesis, we can’t really comprehend the entire meaning, Seems all the rules of life has changed in the game, But our God has faithfully and truthfully remained the same, What we do know God has kept us right through it all, Through loss, sickness, He made sure we would not fall, Yes, seminary in a time of pandemic has changed our normal flow, We have been called for a time such as this so let everybody know, This is not the end, lets keep writing out stories, And when we tell it, make sure we stop and give God all of the glory!

Sharon Milton is a third-year seminarian at Wesley Theological Seminary. She is very passionate about Social Justice, Youth, The Marginalized, Prisoners, and all those who are broken and lost. She enjoys preaching, teaching, and spreading the gospel in “nontraditional” ways anywhere the Holy Spirit leads. She believes transformation is available to all who encounter Jesus Christ, and she is a living witness.

A Pandemic Devotional My wife has pointed out that I talk with my hands. I usually don’t think much about it and certainly wasn’t conscious of it. But then COVID-19 hit. My seminary classes suddenly all went online. Sunday school is by Zoom. Meetings are by Zoom; and we recently conducted a Church Budgets webinar via Zoom. Sure enough, I could see my hands occasionally pop up into the bottom of the screen. I gesture emphatically to clarify an idea. I tick off on my fingers as I list supporting points.

I chop down on my open left hand with my right hand to make a final closing argument. Yet when the people could only see my face on the screen - my gestures were lost.

According to Psychology Today, in the U.S. less than 10% of the message when people talk is verbal (words only). The rest is split between vocal (tone, inflection, pitch, etc.) at 35-40%, and nonverbal at over 50%. Did that mean more than 50% of my message is not getting through?

We were practicing for a webinar on Church Budgeting that I was helping to create in my PMM assignment. My Lay Learning Partner asked us to be more conversational, less like we were reading a script.

So, I tried to talk naturally, but When we reviewed the rehearsal video, it was distracting to see my hand pop up high enough to be seen only occasionally. That’s when it hit me, I was talking with my hands, but my hands were mostly below the camera. I figured if I actually sat on my hands, I would put more energy into voice, pitch, inflection, and facial expression.

We’ve all seen it, the brady-bunch reminiscent gallery view speaker view and the new standard with yourself in a small box, a shared screen and other small boxes moving in and out of view as people speak. With that small image seen in multi-person Zoom sessions, and the often hard-to-hear vocal aspects, my communication was suffering. We must work extra hard to ensure we communicate clearly! (Imagine my right hand chopping down into the palm of my left to emphasize that point.)

Fortunately for us, God doesn’t need Zoom, is unfazed by noise (even when we fail to mute), can always hear us (even when we forget to unmute) and can always see us clearly no matter the lighting or how close we sit to the camera. But without in-person Church Services or Sunday School for most of us, are we still communicating with God? Are we maybe slacking off by doing other things while we watch streaming service? Are we indignant with God because of the impact and inconvenience of COVID-19?

God is still there. God wants to hear from us.

Frustrated or lonely? Let God know. Wondering what this is about and why? Ask God. Need some help, or patience with all the people suddenly sharing your living space so much more?

Talk to God. Need to blow off steam or vent? You can yell at God, too. God can take it and would rather have you take it out on God instead of on your loved ones or neighbors.

Don’t take my word for it. Some ancient friends of mine, that you probably recognize, shared their guidance in a familiar book that I highly recommend: 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT) "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you."

1 Peter tells us about Christian life, and in chapter 5 he reminds us that we are all part of God’s flock, therefore our heavenly Shepherd will care for us.

Joshua 1:9 (NIV) "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

This is part of the pep talk God gives Joshua to assure him of God’s faithful presence as Joshua leads his people into the promised land.

Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

In this part of Philippians, Paul is reassuring them that despite his circumstances, he is okay because God strengthens him.

A Prayer for to Remind & Provide Strength to Endure Lord God, these are challenging times.

When will it end?

In the meantime, despite how hard it seems, help me remember to turn to you first, not as a last resort.

Open my heart to receive the Holy Spirit and to help me love my neighbors as Christ commands.

Brad Duty is retired Air Force and financial counselor whose calling is to take financial counseling into his ministry as a deacon. He is a second-year student in a three-year MDiv program. He loves Wesley Theological Seminary in-person classes and can’t wait to be in class again to see his friends and talk with his hands with them.

Covid-19 and Inequality in the United States COVID-19 has exposed the face of inequality. What was once invisible to some has become impossible to ignore. At the beginning of this Pandemic, doctors and nurses who treated patients were hailed as heroes. Slowly, the country began to see that all these "essential workers" were not necessarily heroes but were forced to work and being sacrificed so that the country could continue to be "open."

Bus drivers, grocery store workers, gas attendants, farmworkers, meat processors, factory workers, and fast-food employees were and are on the frontline. However, they are some of the economy's lowest-paid workers living paycheck by paycheck to survive.

The pandemic has illuminated the health care system's inequities as impoverished communities, people of color and elderly residents are most affected by COVID-19. However, the system has worked well for the privileged few, while the remainder of society is sacrificed for the economy. Indeed, the wealthy are becoming more prosperous due to this pandemic - while the poor are becoming poorer.

Inequality in the United States is not new; indeed, it is part of the United States of America’s founding. Nevertheless this pandemic offers the country an opportunity to reflect on injustice, poverty, and inequality and reprioritize its values. Doing so in tandem with theological reflection may lead to a more compassionate society.

Theological Responses in the Age of COVID-19 As Christians, we must work to ensure that we do everything in our power to mitigate deaths from the coronavirus, and no one else suffers the consequences of an unequal system. Consoling those who have lost someone is critical, but we must not miss our calling to speak the truth in times of crisis, if that is all we do.

There is no correct response that churches, pastors, and theologians should follow in the face of the death and destruction in the ongoing pandemic. However, we must encourage leaders and parishioners to avoid the negative mental trap of operating in an "end of the world" mindset. In this perspective, the current pandemic is God's "punishment" for individuals not praying enough, reading the Bible enough, and not donating enough money to churches.

Using the pandemic to spark fear and obedience is an empty, fatalistic, and irresponsible message that will not prepare the church to have a prophetic voice in society. However, we can respond to the unprecedented crisis reflecting the love and commitment to take care of the poor, the sick, the elderly.

I believe that churches should re-consider the theological reflections about poverty and inequality in the country and how a dialogue with liberation theologies is a subversive act of resistance. Where is God to the impoverished of the world who look abandoned?

Gustavo Gutierrez writes A Theology of Liberation that "Material poverty is a scandalous condition to human dignity" and, therefore, contrary to God's will. In a similar dialogue, Jim Wallis in America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege and the Bridge to a New America writes, "I am often puzzled by the question that some middle-class white people ask when they see protests about economic inequality 'What do they want?' The best answer I've heard came from a young black man I met in Ferguson. He said, 'What do I want? I want an education, a job, and a family.'' Before COVID-19, there was little attention to impoverished community experiences who were carrying the brunt of economic hardship, until many were forced to serve as "essential workers" to keep the country afloat.

If, as Christians, we believe in "Loving your neighbor," as reflected in James 2:8, there is no way we can condone governmental policies that treat human beings as commodities of the market. Upon recognizing this, how can we defend systems that do not value citizens' lives because they are impoverished? We are called to fight for equality, help reduce poverty, and defend justice, and this should be as important and as crucial as anything else we argue or fight for in the public square.

Under these circumstances, a believer might rightly ask, what is the church doing?

Is it possible to ensure that all human life is valued and those who get rich at the cost of the lives of the most impoverished are not celebrated but are condemned?

How did this pandemic make the inequality that many already knew about impossible to ignore?

Could this same pandemic promote repentance and change for evil and oppressive capitalism systems?

This pandemic is real as the impoverishment and inequality that millions of people experience day after day.

If this situation does not mobilize us to serve those in need, what will?

Yenny Delgado (she/her/ella) is a Social psychologist and second-year seminarian with a specialization of public theology. She writes about the intersections between politics, race, and faith.

Focusing on Thankfulness in the Midst of Pandemic Times Recently, I was involved in a discussion with a few friends about Thanksgiving plans for this year. This conversation transitioned to how my friends shared it was hard to be thankful for anything during this year.

On the surface, it is easy to agree with them based on all that has happened this year.

The world is in a pandemic that does not require any adjectives to strengthen its impact. With over 250,000 dead in the United States alone, COVID-19 will go down in history for the tremendous losses suffered. Losses including financial loss, job loss, and a loss of leadership.

This year also saw civil unrest on an international level that was heartbreaking to watch an entire race of people fighting for their rights, while the President of the United States was kindling to the flames of racism across the nation.

This year also had created increased anxiety and tensions between Americans based on a contentious election. You could hear both sides of the argument ask, how can anybody consider voting for that candidate?

Millions of people lost their jobs or had to dip into savings or take out loans to help make ends meet. So, with all this going on in the world and in our own backyard here at political ground zero, it is difficult to find things to be thankful for this year.

As a country, we the people are broken; we are not healthy, and we are not good neighbors. We as a country have been focused on leaders that some would say are false idols; so, what does that make us?

The easy answer is we are sinners, but I would also say that there is good news from this year and it mostly comes to the fact that I see many people standing up against the oppressors in this world.

As I am learning in Hebrew Bible right now, the Israelites went through these vicious cycles in the Book of Judges that saw them sin, be oppressed, repent, and then be delivered by God. I can’t help but think of the parallels in our world today. We are sinning and for years we have watched our own neighbors be oppressed without lifting a finger or saying a word to defend them. A society that was home to the late great Rep. John Lewis who was an advocate for getting into “good trouble” and taught us that we should seek ways to find good trouble and continue to speak against racial injustice every day.

That’s right, there is good news too. When we look at Black Lives Matter Plaza, you can see people of different races, cultures, and religious identities standing up together against systemic racism and sharing a common message of enough is enough. In the midst of conflict and contention, we can be thankful that there are many different races, colors, and cultures arm in arm, because that is good news.

On a personal level, the effects of the COVID pandemic meant that in March, my position of Vice President of U.S. Sales for an International Engineering firm was eliminated. Unlikely to be re-created anytime soon, I found myself at a crossroads in life, without fulltime work and trying to figure out what was next. I decided to return to my work as a part-time selfemployed financial planner and focus on helping people with insurance and college planning, but the biggest change for me was hearing God’s call again.

This time, I did not have the distractions that I had in my life previously, and within days of hearing the call, I was enrolled at Wesley.

It would be easy to focus on the pandemic and losing my employment, but instead, I am focused on the beauty of being able to be a Seminary student.

My path will be longer than most as I plan to attend part-time, but my focus will be on the treasures that ministry will provide at the end of the road.

So, I ask you this question…what are you thankful for this holiday season?

For me, it’s within this Wesley community, my wife and three daughters, holiday music, Hallmark movies, my dog Charlie, and the friendship and fellowship with the promise of a new year right around the corner.

May we continue to receive God’s many blessings.

And all of God’s children said, Amen.

Scott Bach-Hansen is a first-year M.Div. student at Wesley, serves on the Student Council and works for the NBA in Referee Operations. He is a Certified Candidate in the Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He is married to his wife Michele and has three daughters and a puppy named Charlie.

A Rule of Life for the Exhausted This pandemic season of life has caused me to revise my practice of faith. My Rule of Life from Before is out the window.

Completely.

It’s not only that I no longer have my commute, during which I used to listen to Pray As You Go. It’s not only that I no longer worship each Sunday consistently. It’s not only that I cannot serve in the way I used to. It’s not only that I haven’t felt safe enough to hit the streets protesting injustice. What I have come to realize is that although all these things and more have caused me to have to rewrite my Rule, the truth is that the factor that weighs most heavily on my need for changing my practices in this season is that I am tired. Exhausted. Bone tired. Utterly depleted.

How do I practice my faith when most of my energy each day is spent trying to walk alongside my grieving kids and do my job well?

What is a responsible and faithful Rule of Life for the Exhausted in a Time of Pandemic?

My pandemic Rule of Life is simple: The Examen with my family at the dinner table. Worship in whatever way it happens.

Prayer beads in any downtime I find. Gratitude. Grief. And sleep.

Each evening we share our highs, lows, and where we’ve seen God during the day. We also share how we hope we can do better tomorrow. “I will seek to be more patient tomorrow,” has been my refrain almost nightly.

Worship on Sundays comes in snippets. If I get my kids to Zoom Sunday school; I’m doing great. My Sunday worship is now spent hoping the kids will be quiet enough for me to hear something of a sermon or prayer and for my husband to lead worship from our home office. If I can hear just a little something, then I have some sustenance for the week ahead.

I have gone through something like four sets of prayer beads during this pandemic. When I have a minute, I walk my fingers along the beads as I pray, sometimes fervently enough that the string breaks.

My gratitude practice is the most firmly in place, especially for teachers and administrators at the elementary school and for the help we have in occasional babysitters who enter into our small bubble.

I grieve. Often. I allow the losses of this season to wash over me as I watch the climbing death toll and hear from people in minoritized communities in this country cry out for injustice.

As I look forward to a vaccine, I hear the pleas from countries in two-thirds world that they will not be left out as the virus devastates their communities and hospitals. I enter into the grief of missed milestones and family I haven’t seen in so long. (My brother overseas, when will I get to see him?) I also recognize that when I enter the grief space, I am not alone. God, who is comfort and peace when there is so little elsewhere, is there with me.

And I sleep. I go to bed even if papers aren’t all graded and the house is a mess. I go to sleep with my kids cuddled next to me if they are too sad to be in their own beds because they miss friends or are stressed out by virtual school. I go to sleep sometimes without any prayer except, “God bless you tonight” whispered to my toddler or sent out into the world.

This season will not last forever, but it is the season we are in now. I have come to realize that these are the practices I need for Now. I need the reflection of the Examen and the strengthening of whatever worship I can get. I need the physicality of the prayer beads, even if I break them. I need to cultivate gratitude because there is only grief if I don’t. I need to grieve because this is where God meets me most clearly. I need sleep, and although I would never have thought of it as a spiritual practice before, I certainly do now. I am utterly exhausted every day and God is calling me to do what I can to find restoration at night because when tomorrow comes, it has worries of its own (Matthew 6:34). I need as much rest as I can get in order to face them with my family and my students. God knows this and I am learning.

Though I cannot wait until I can go back to my Rule of Life from Before, I suspect it will need significant revision once we get to the other side of this. Because I am not the same as I was before.

"So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own.

Today’s trouble is enough for today."

Matthew 6:34

Rev. Dr. Emily Peck-McClain is a Visiting Professor of Christian Formation and Young Adult Ministry and Co-Director of the Certificate in Children and Youth Ministry and Advocacy at Wesley. Peck-McClain is a United Methodist elder from the New York Annual Conference. She is passionate about the church's challenges and possibilities in this present age. Peck-McClain is the spouse of a United Methodist pastor and mother of three children.

A Pandemic Journal During our last semester in April, the Office of Residence Life provided painting kits for us to indulge in a little self-care. I remember distinctly working on final projects and interning virtually.

It was indeed a busy time for students, and I am a person who loves to do artistic things. I wish I could remember the title of the painting, but it escapes me now. We could have never anticipated this pandemic happening as a community or even as a world.

Nevertheless, here we are as we have watched an the unfolding of a greater awareness of the Black Lives Matter Movement, a presidential election, and the rise of a virus, among other things.

When our souls have found themselves immersed in a seemingly inescapable place, some form of release is necessary. As we have heard praying, meditation, doing art, or just things that you enjoy can help.

The painting party helped me to relax and to take my time to create. As a matter of fact, I completed the painting in two days, because I wanted to embrace the moment. I needed to embrace the moment to slow down and to concentrate in a life-giving way. I had no idea that months later I would be using my imagination to reflect on the color scheme and patterns of my painting.

The first thing that comes to mind when looking at the painting is the eye. As you can see the eye is shedding a tear, and truthfully, we have been shedding many tears during this season. Many of us have lost family members, friends, as well as other people that we may know. We have even shed tears of joy as we have witnessed many getting married, graduations, births, and so on. Each color represents something different for me as I think about this pandemic. For me, the blues, yellows, greens, as well as white and black each reflect both joy and sadness.

In my mind, the blues represent the possibility of refreshing, just as the water cools us on a sunny day.

While we live in a time where the thought of refreshing can seem farfetched, our faith and hope in Christ continue to long for a better day. The green hues remind me of growth, as many of us have been social distancing we have had time alone to perhaps reflect on the ways that we can be strengthened. Or maybe even how to show up as a better “us” in the world. The yellows seem to reveal the coming of a brighter day, and the black seems to depict the sadness that has overtaken our land and world. Lastly, we hope for a world where the virus will be completely washed away or as the phrase goes “washed whiter than snow.”

White often symbolizes purification.

Belmar Blues Honestly, we have no idea when this pandemic will end, but someday this will be a thing of the past.

Though we will never forget the scars and brokenness left behind. The scars of lost jobs, broken homes, many becoming sick, people being left in a state of hunger, people of color being left with a feeling of concern, etc. will never be forgotten. Even as I speak of an event that will at some point be deemed as history, the truth is that everything I have named has remained in our present.

May the Lord deliver us into better and brighter days.

Amen.

Techika Rhodes is a fourth-year M Div. and an African American Church Studies program student, anticipating graduation in May 2021. She is passionate about reaching out to marginalized people, the integration of ministry and sociology, as well as music ministry.

A Proposition of Pandemic Possibility Facing the devastating effects of danger and distress, the Israelites were in need of a word from the Lord. They were living through some kind of existential hell, drowning in a sea of despair.

We don’t know exactly what their troubles were, but we know is that they were in trouble.

How do we know this? We know because there would have been no other reason for Isaiah to offer such words of comfort and encouragement.

Let’s hear Isaiah talk to his people with these words from the Lord: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”

Isaiah could have just as easily given them the remixed, Baltimore, 2020 version of God’s promise - and told them that “come hell or high water, God has made a promise that God will be with you.”

I know this sounds rather crass and raw, and maybe not that religious and holy, but this is a word for those of us who awakened today wondering how we’re going to deal with the hell and high waters of our lives.

So, it might serve us well to take heed of Isaiah’s use of the metaphors of going through high waters and blazing fires to consider the trials that we are facing or will face, and the difficulties that we are going through and will go through.

One important thing to notice about Isaiah’s words to the people of his day is that he used the words “when you go through…”

Isaiah didn’t use words of conjecture, possibility, or probability - he didn’t say to them “if you go through” or “in the event you go through” or “in case you go through”.

Isaiah used words of certainty and inevitability - “when you go through”.

This is a word for when we go through high waters and when we face fires in our lives… when death knocks on our door…when sickness comes… when brokenness in relationships occurs… when broken minds, broken spirits, and broken hearts are ours.

Isaiah is speaking of times when we go through.

What people of faith need in this present age are real promises of how God is going to help us wade through the inevitable high waters, and deal with the real pain many of us are experiencing.

We need a word from the Lord that speaks to how we are going to wade through the high waters and come out of COVID-19, and how some of us, or some of those we know, are going to wade through the high waters of wondering what we will eat and where we will live.

As Isaiah offered a proposition of pandemic possibility to the people of his day, we need a similar word from the Lord that speaks promise, possibility, and hope of how we are going to wade through the high waters of concern for over 40 million people in America who have lost their livelihoods, and tens of thousands more who have lost their lives due to COVID-19.

We need assurance from God amidst the high waters of race animus in our midst, where we still have to wonder whether Black lives really do matter.

We need a word from the Lord amidst the high waters of the real concerns that we have for our children and grandchildren’s future.

Isaiah wrote this song of hope and promise to his people about 2700 years ago as they were facing similar high waters of uncertainty - wondering about their future, and wondering if and when God was going to show up for them.

Indeed, we are not the first people to face the predicament of hell and high waters. We’re not the first generation to be steeped in apparently overwhelming and insurmountable odds. We’re not the first people to encounter mountains of despair and valleys of vicissitudinous disappointment.

Isaiah wanted the people to know that the same God who delivered their parents from the high waters of the Red Sea 1000 years before, would bring them through the high waters they were facing. The same God who met their ancestors at the banks of the chilly Jordan river would come to see about them.

The same God who would deliver Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego from a fiery furnace would bring them out of the fires they were facing. And we can rest assured today that the same God who brought generations before ours through difficult days, will bring us through today and tomorrow.

The same God who the Israelites called Jehovah Niche is the same God who protects us today.

The same God who they called Jehovah Jireh will provide for us.

The same God who they called Jehovah Raphe heals today.

The same God who they called Jehovah Shalom brings peace today.

The same God who was an on-time God 2700 years ago, in Isaiah’s day, is an on-time, every time, all-the-time God today.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” -Isaiah 43:2 Indeed, Isaiah offered the people to whom he was preaching a proposition of pandemic possibility to remind then that God is a very present help in times of trouble. He wanted them to know that the God they served, and the Christ we know will never leave us or forsake us.

We can rest assured that whatever the storms of life that rage, Jesus will stand by us.

When the world is tossing you and me like a ship upon the sea, God who rules winds and waters will stand by us. (Rev. Charles Albert Tindley)

Rev. C. Anthony Hunt, Ph.D is is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, and currently serves as the Senior Pastor of Epworth Chapel UMC in Baltimore, MD. This sermon was preached at Oxnam Chapel, Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC on October 6, 2020, and is published in C. Anthony Hunt’s recently released book, “Holding onto Hope: Essays Sermons and Prayers on Religion and Race, volume 4

Disorientation Photos by Matthias Everhope

Pandemic Realities Photos by Matthias Everhope

Sinking Into Hope There are moments when the world seems to pause. Sometimes it is welcome: a snowflake landing just so on the tip of your nose, a butterfly gracing the petals of an open flower, a first kiss.

Other times it is jarring, the mechanics grinding to a sudden stop causing you to lurch forward in a dizzying fashion.

Mid-April 2020 was one of those moments for me.

Neck-deep in the strangest semester of my lifedeadlines looming, stress rising, and the weight of grief dragging me down, I chose to embrace the pause.

Unable to focus on my work, I turned to painting for relief. Having no real training, my paintings rarely turn out as I plan. Sometimes it is frustrating, but oftentimes, it is a beautiful mistake. This piece, which I named ‘Sinking’, was one of those beautiful mistakes.

A person is drowning the waves surrounding them threatening to pull them under-they are reaching out for anything to hold onto.

In the bottom right-hand quadrant, you can see a flash of silver-white. My original intent was to create the effect of powerful waves, frothing, ready to strike.

Instead, I created a dove. In my attempt to create chaos, the Holy Spirit interceded with an image of hope.

2020 has been a year of continual pause - the fits and starts of dollops of time, masses of months blurring together in oftentimes painful swatches of memory.

Nevertheless, there is still beauty and hope to be found within this pause.

As we round the bend of this tumultuous year, take a moment to pause and reflect, to process the pain and cherish the love.

Sinking Lenora Whitecotton is a third-year seminarian at Wesley.

She serves on the Student Council and works with the fellowship committee and is a Resident Manager on campus. She is passionate about artistic expression, is a member of the Oxnam Chapel choir and is a certified candidate for ordination in the Michigan Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Navigating Needs During and Beyond the Pandemic One Sunday you are in church, sharing hugs, holding hands, and praising God with your neighbor. Then the following week you are mandated to stay home, turn on your T.V. or laptop, and watch service online. This is the experience of The Temple of Praise in Southeast Washington, DC, and many other churches across the United States. Pastors and ministries were not given a warning or instructions on how to handle the COVID-19 crisis and the abrupt changes. Many members lost their jobs and were forced out of their homes due to a pandemic with severe economic implications.

Although churches are expected to immediately meet the needs of the members, the church was never identified as essential, subsequently limiting the contact between clergy and members. The Temple of Praise, along with many other churches around the world had to think of a strategic plan and respond Immediately!

The Temple of Praise continued to conduct online worship services and Bible study, but the tangible needs of members were still not met. The church decided to use their partnerships and networking to distribute fresh produce to families in need, immediately following the church shut down.

Each week, families were able to drive-up or walk-up and receive a box full of groceries lasting for close to a week. The church was also able to provide produce to local ministries to support additional communities. This was part of a strategic plan that was implemented collaborative partnership efforts to address community needs.

Now that the tangible needs and spiritual needs of the community were met, the church decided to target the spiritual development of youth during this pandemic. Youth are stuck on virtual school and zoom calls all week, and in order to engage them spiritually during this national crisis, a targeted focus and programming are required. Temple of Praise’s Senior Pastor, W. Lamar Staples who took over the church from his father, Bishop Glen Staples, started youth bible study to support the spiritual development of youth as his first youth initiative. “I want the youth and young adults to be the priority and focus of the ministry because the church will have no future without them,” said Pastor Staples. He and Youth Pastor, Arthur Darby decided to create a weekly Youth Q&A Bible study that allows youth to ask questions pertaining to the Bible and life.

Pastor Staples and Pastor Darby both conduct this live series weekly, where youth from any church can join in and submit questions. This has kept youth engaged and looking forward to the weekly discussion with anticipation.

The weekly Bible study sessions with youth and young adults ages 17-34 have been great, but also challenging. There are so many intriguing questions that often times challenges traditionalism and requires a level of transparency that can be uncomfortable at times. The youth are seeking to grow in an authentic relationship with God that extends beyond practice and that is rooted in truth. The youth and young adults shared they have enjoyed “the transparency between Pastor Staples and Pastor Arthur,” and like how their “questions are answered with the Bible, but also real-life examples.”

As one of the main facilitators, I find myself studying Scripture more to ensure that my responses and applications are rooted in Biblical doctrine. The reality is that I do not have all the answers. Some of my responses are subjective and are open to being challenged. I sometimes receive text messages from youth after the sessions asking for more clarity pertaining to my responses. I believe this is an advantage of the weekly sessions. It sparks dialogue in efforts to seek truth and understanding of the word of God. I expect these sessions to grow in the number of participants. I desire for more youth and young adults to feel comfortable acknowledging and expressing their spirituality. We currently have 75-100 viewers weekly on social media. We answer on average 8-10 questions per week to give us time to provide adequate responses. The goal after the pandemic is to be able to host the weekly Bible study in person with a live audience of youth and young adults.

In addition to the weekly Bible Study, Temple of Praise will have a Youth Discipleship Training starting in January that will teach and train youth on how to disciple during a crisis, such as the COVID pandemic. The instructional portion of the program will last 4 weeks and is open to all youth who are a part of any community. This program will allow youth to engage in developing programs and initiatives specifically for teens and young adults. We are encouraging the innovation of youth to facilitate the next moves for the church in efforts to target and embrace youth spirituality. A computer lab will be installed at the church to assist those participants that do not have computer or internet access at home.

The Temple of Praise is just one example of a church community that had to adapt and adjust through the complexities of this pandemic. It is an example that although the church is not classified as “essential,” it has essential tasks and responsibilities.

In what ways can you partner with your ministry or local churches to ensure the essential needs of the community and youth are met?

What innovative and creative ideas do you have to still engage the spirituality of the community and youth?

These are just some ways that The Temple of Praise has navigated this pandemic, but I am certain that the church has the answer to discipleship and survival during a crisis.

Arthur Darby III is a D.Min student at Wesley Theological Seminary. He serves as the Director of Single Adult Housing Stabilization at FACETS, A Captain Chaplain in the U.S Air Force, and is the Youth Pastor at Temple of Praise in Southeast Washington, DC. He is passionate about growing the church's capacity for growth and leadership and supporting the spiritual development of youth and young adults.

Praying through the Pandemic: Practicing Patience with Teresa of Avila

In the face of the pandemic that we are experiencing, I have been grateful for a short prayer for patience—a prayer for the kind of trust in God that grows even from the thorny ground of uncertainty and suffering. Being away from my students, learning to pray over Zoom, living with the worry and anxiety that seems to be a permanent part of our atmosphere these days has certainly been a challenge.

And in conversations with my students, I have heard versions of that challenge echoed again and again.

In light of those challenges, I have turned to a short prayer that I learned some time ago (when I was in seminary) from the music of Taizé: the “Nada Te Turbe” prayer of St. Teresa of Avila, a Spanish mystic and Carmelite nun of the sixteenth century.

The prayer reads like this: Eficacia de la Paciencia Nada te turbe, Nada te espante, Todo se pasa, Dios no se muda, La Paciencia Todo lo alcanza; Quien a Dios tiene Nada le falta.

Sólo Dios basta.

Efficacy of Patience Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you, All things pass away, God does not change, Patience obtains all things; Whoever has God lacks nothing.

God alone suffices.

The words of this prayer call us back to the solid and unchanging ground of patience that is nourished by hope. St. Teresa names the disturbing and frightening circumstances that we experience in life, but she reframes them within the context of the almighty God of love and peace. St. Teresa prayed this prayer during her own spiritual “dark night,” and she accompanies us with her prayer as we also walk through a turbulent time. But like the season of Advent, St. Teresa reminds us of the hope that does not disappoint us (cf. Rom. 5:5): that God remains constant, that God remains merciful, and that God continues to meet with us and to meet our needs.

So I pray that during this pandemic semester—and the weeks of the pandemic that lay ahead of us—St. Teresa can continue to be our guide and can help us grow in that spiritual patience that is born of the hope that we celebrate in Advent: the sure hope of Emmanuel, God with us.

Rev. Dr. Anna Petrin is Assistant Professor of Worship and Chapel Elder at Wesley. She is is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and a scholar who specializes in the history and practice of Christian worship.is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and a scholar who specializes in the history and practice of Christian worship.

Physically Distant but Learning and Growing Together

Whether we have been aware of it or not, we have been in a state of grief in this new routine (I refuse to use “new normal”). For nine months now we have found ways to live counter to our humanity- physically distant, separated and fearful of contact with one another. We are being safe, distant, and masked up for good reasons. The global pandemic continues to rage in the United States and test the test the limits of individual liberty with public safety. We are grieving the loss of over a million and a half global citizens, nearly 300,000 in the US. To date, we have not had any collective expressions of mourning as a nation. We are also grieving the loss of sharing our lives together.

We have lost the casual interactions and the simple act of cohabitation with others in workspaces, classrooms and sanctuaries. The consequences for our spiritual life and our educational life together have been obvious and challenging.

Being in seminary is an act of faith in the best of times.

Being in seminary in the middle of a pandemic is nothing short of miraculous. Seminary’s are inherently intimate communities. Their intimacy is found in the way pedagogy, learning, and engagement take place.

We reflect on the spiritual and deeply personal parts of our journey. We share with each other the aspects of our lives that otherwise go untouched. The pandemic that has physically separated us from one another has challenged the way we share our journeys; no longer face to face but through Kaltura, Blackboard, and the ubiquitous discussion board (for which we must “post once and respond to two colleagues”). This is not normal. This is not our way of being.

And yet, I am thankful for all of the students, staff, and faculty who have remained faithful and committed to the call on their lives. We have found ways to share, to grow together. It hasn’t been easy, but we have learned to be in virtual community, sharing our journeys. We have mourned what was lost and celebrated the new things in new ways. There is much this pandemic has taken away from us, but there is much that we have rediscovered. Foremost among the rediscoveries is a renewal of the gift of learning. We have learned the value of community and being together. We have learned more intentionally and more deeply. We also have learned to be a different seminary.

As a spiritual learning community, I have appreciated the ways we have grown with each other, one to another. I am grateful for all the ways community has formed in the void of physical engagement. As we continue this school year in this pandemic, I pray that we continue to discover new ways of learning and growing together (safely). I pray for each of you in this season.

I pray for your families, communities, and our world.

Rev. Dr. Asa Lee is the Associate Dean for Campus Life and Director of African American Church Studies at Wesley. He teaches courses in the study of African American religious experience and practical theology with emphases in preaching, church leadership and spiritual formation.

Advent in a Time of Pandemics Let me begin with a confession: I love the season of Advent. I love it for deep and powerful reasons, like when my world was falling apart and Advent restored a sense of meaning in a season of grief. I love it for simple reasons, like the fact that seeing my neighbor’s over-the-top Christmas lights are beautiful reminders to me of the return of the light. I love it because the themes of Advent, of hope, peace, joy, and love, have spoken truth to me each year.

But this year? This year, I feel like I’ve been in Advent since March.

If Advent is about waiting for something or Someone to come, then I’ve been waiting since March. (And well before that, depending on what I’m waiting for, but we’ll just talk about 2020 for a minute.) This whole year has been about waiting. Remember when we were going to lockdown for 15 days?

Remember when we were just going to try to see ourselves to the next…whatever the next thing was? And now, there’s a lot of waiting for a vaccine, and a lot of concern about the loss, pain, and suffering in the meantime.

So, this year, I’ve found myself looking for company in the waiting. After Easter last spring, I began to realize that Jesus, in Acts 1, tells the disciples to “shelter in place” in Jerusalem while they wait for the coming of the Spirit.

In that season of waiting, they do have to stay put. But they are also working. For one, they are praying together. Prayer has marked Jesus’ ministry all through the Gospel of Luke, and it continues to be a hallmark of the disciples through Acts. Prayer is first on their list, not what they turn to when all other options are exhausted, as I often need to remind myself. They do more than pray, too. They gather safely. They do the work they’re called to do (in this particular case, choosing another apostle). And they continue to wait.

But in Advent, my thoughts turn to other stories, the stories that prepare us for Christmas, for the birth of Jesus. I think of Zechariah and Elizabeth, Joseph and Mary, shepherds and magi. Elizabeth, in particular, caught my attention this year. When I think of Elizabeth’s story, what I most remember are the high points: She conceives a child long after she thought this was possible, and she speaks a priestly blessing over Mary, providing companionship, affirmation, and probably a host of other things that Mary needed.

This year, though, what I’ve been meditating on aren’t those high points of Elizabeth’s story. I’ve found myself wondering about the days before we meet Zechariah in the temple. The days that are described in Luke 1

by Elizabeth and Zechariah’s actions: “Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord” (Luke 1:6). Those days, those months, those years…all that waiting.

Elizabeth in Luke, and the disciples in Acts, remind me that waiting is often accompanied by longing, even if we aren’t always able to verbalize exactly what we’re longing for. Elizabeth and the disciples affirm that the life of the people of God has often been marked by waiting (think of slavery in Egypt or of Judah in exile, for bigger examples). And they remind me that God always shows up, though rarely in predictable or explicable ways.

But as I wait, Elizabeth and the disciples also remind me that the act of waiting itself is an act of faith. And they remind me that such faith gets lived out, day by day, in the actions we are called to do. Perhaps your waiting is getting lived out in readings, papers, projects, or exams.

Perhaps it’s getting lived out in sermons and conversations, mediated through screens. Perhaps it’s lived out in loneliness and isolation, as you try to keep your neighbors and yourself safe. Perhaps it’s lived out in working for justice in a broken and unjust world.

Perhaps it’s lived out in prayer. But as I look to Elizabeth and these disciples, I see companions as I wait, as I pray, and as I work. I see people who are longing for the presence of God, who wait for God, and who, in their waiting, keep taking one faithful step at a time.

Dr. Laura Sweat Holmes is a Professor of New Testament at Wesley. Her research interests include investigating how the New Testament Gospels talk about God and how their manner of speech might be instructive and challenging for theology and discipleship in the church today. A lifelong United Methodist, she is called to and fulfilled by teaching Scripture to and for the church.