A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.Proverbs 17:22
Week 10 of Shelter in Place. 70 days today…. I don’t know about you, but last week was the hardest yet for me. I’m worrying about one member and the senior complex where he’s been exposed to Covid-19. I’m worrying about someone with a different kind of terrible diagnosis. I’ve been worrying about the caregivers, the kids, the parents, the teachers, the seniors (including myself), the graduates, the church, the medical workers, the other essential workers, and the government workers who have to try to balance both the health and the economy of the nation. That’s a lot of worrying, especially since worrying will get me nowhere!
And then – just yesterday – the cheerful hearts of two little boys gave life and spirit to my half-dried-up bones! They reminded me that I need to live in the moment. Yes, the day will come when the worst of this will have passed, when we will all feel (somewhat) free to hug someone. The day will come when everything will not be centered on whether someone may get sick or not. But today, we can turn our worrying over to God and turn our computers upside down! We can smile and laugh and share a conversation about something other than Covid-19 and this shelter in place.
We’ve done well as a nation of independent, action oriented Americans as we’ve stayed home to keep as many as possible safe! And, even though we’re all sick of the isolation (or is that just me?), we need to take a page from these kids, and stay the course and continue to be there for each other, as we find ways to share a smile and a laugh, and let go of some anger and frustration, until we can be together again.
In last week’s devotion, Pastor Tia talked about the “Sewing Bees” from her congregation. Pastor Tia and the Sewing Bees invite you to join them in sewing masks/face coverings to donate to various organizations. Please read their invitation below. If you’re interested in volunteering, feel free to contact Linda Pearson. Her contact info is included below.
Love in Christ, and missing you,
Pastor Barbara
Dear Friends,
A warm hello from Christ the King Lutheran Church in Fremont. We are looking for volunteers.
As a little introduction, our church has enjoyed doing various community outreach sewing projects from Chemo-Care Bags for HERS (Breast Cancer Foundation) to Pillow Cases for SAVE (Safe Alternatives to Violent Environments). Now, with our current Covid19 Pandemic situation, the few sewing members from our social ministry group started making cloth face masks.
In April, we named ourselves the “Sewing Bees” and went into full gear to produce a variety of cloth masks. Church members donated money to help us fund the project to purchase needed supplies. Currently, we have about 11 people volunteering to sew; some are members of CTK and others are wonderful volunteering friends. Some folks sew a few masks, while others challenge themselves to make many. To date, we’ve made over 850 masks. They’ve gone to dozens of local organizations, senior homes, and our last two packages went to the Navajo People of Arizona. You might sense that we continue to reach out to help and care for others. In that same regard, we also bring joy to ourselves when we give to others.
As the requests for masks continue to grow, we welcome all volunteers to help sew masks. All you need is a sewing machine and a few basic sewing skills. We have any needed supplies. Also, our pick-up and drop-offs are centralized to one home in Fremont. And to top that, we are a honey of a group with which to work. Please join us “Sewing Bees”.
Linda Pearson, Christ the King Lutheran Church “Sewing Bees”
2tlpearson@comcast.net (510) 509-8458