Living and Ministering Through A Pandemic

By Dr. Herman O. Kelly, Contributing Writer

We are living and serving God in difficult times. We are practicing ministry and living under new modalities. Our existential experience has been altered by COVID-19. How do we live and how do we do ministry in these difficult times? 

First, to minister and live a certain quality of life, we must minister to ourselves. Howard Thurman said, “The central fact in religious experience is the awareness of meeting God.” These words give us the point of departure regarding ministry in difficult times. The minister must first minister to themselves. I want to argue that this process begins with an inward journey with God. 

The pandemic has changed our routine. Our worship services and gatherings are now done through the modality of technology. We no longer have personal connections with each other. Social distancing has not only a practice for health and safety but it has also caused us some mental and psychological concerns. 

As people of African descent, we enjoy fellowship and community. Our community is now through technology. Our self-care is paramount now. The late philosopher Albert North Whitehead once said, “Religion is what a person does in his or her solitude.” This suggests that our self-care is a way to practice our faith in solitude. While we are confined to less travel and more time at home, this is a wonderful time to do our self-care of prayer, meditation, healthy eating, and exercise. 

During this difficult time of ministry, I have combined my meditation with my workout. I arrive at the swimming facility before dawn and begin my self-care ministry. I pray and meditate as I do my training. These moments of reflection and meditation prepare for another day of difficult ministry in difficult times.

Secondly, to minister and live in a pandemic, we must have a team approach. We have persons in our congregation and community that can assist us during this pandemic. I have utilized persons at Bethel AME Church to assist the ministry during these difficult times. These persons give support and encouragement as we worship, study, and minister during a new paradigm. Community is important and we must maintain community as best we can during these uncertain times. Teamwork is the word during this pandemic and we all need each other. We need to support and encourage each other. 

Lastly, we must remain in fellowship and connected. It is important to use the class leader system during this difficult time. We must empower and support our class leaders to contact each member during these uncertain times. It is especially important to contact members who live alone. We also must encourage our young people. 

Each fourth Sunday, our YPD director gives words of encouragement to our young people in the congregation. I also provide a weekly meditation to the membership for encouragement and spiritual direction. 

The scriptures give us additional support and encouragement. Isaiah 40:31 says, “but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Let us gain strength from God’s Word as we travel through unchartered territory. 

God’s Word guides us like the lighthouse on the edge of the ocean. The lighthouse is always placed near the rocks and difficult portions of the shoreline. The captain of the vessel would always look for the lighthouse when the storms began to rise and the surf was difficult to maneuver. Psalm 27:1 reminds us, “The Lord is our light and our salvation.”