Bringing About the Kingdom of God with COVID-19

Dear Creation Justice Ministries Community,

Jesus calls us, every second of every day, to bring about the reign of God through acts of love, charity, and justice. How do we do this in our new reality of the coronavirus pandemic? Each of us must search our hearts, our talents, and our neighborhoods to identify our calling. Presented here are some avenues that may speak to you.

Consider this a sacred time. Develop your own wisdom to cope with more quiet time or more hectic, demanding activity. Maybe your children are now at home with you as schools may be closed. Create a schedule that allots time for prayer, work and recreation. As your prayer time lengthens and you connect with the center of your being, the Holy Spirit will certainly inspire you with new thoughts and activities to bring about God's Kingdom.

An obvious one is intensifying our outreach and caring for one another. The pandemic magnifies and highlights our oneness in the Lord. Maybe you will identify neighbors who are elderly or handicapped and unable to get their basic needs met on their own. Maybe you will join with others in providing both emotional and practical support. As a country, we hopefully move from “ME FIRST” to a “WE” society.

​Another issue rising to the surface is the immense inequality in our society. We are the only western industrialized country without universal health care and paid sick leave. Eighty per cent of us have inadequate savings for retirement or financial emergencies. Forty percent of us are hourly workers without any type of employment benefits. We have superior clinical health for some but inadequate public health for most of us.

So the pandemic is multi-dimensional. We have the enormous medical challenges, emotional distress, financial turmoil and the glaring societal inequities. The main take away here is for all of us to stay tuned into these issues as the pandemic eventually subsides by making long term commitments for social justice.

How does the pandemic relate to the mission of Creation Justice Ministries and the 100,000 churches and 40 million members of those churches? We believe the learning for us is that radical massive common good changes are achievable for our earth because we are now witnessing that level of change happening in response to the pandemic. When we come together and become passionate, as our Lord modeled for us, we can change societal inequities.

So in the near term we are called to acts of charity; in the long term structural, societal changes are necessary to bring about the Kingdom of God here on earth. With the help of our Trinitarian God, we can do it!

In God's Love, Peace and Grace,

The Creation Justice Ministries Team

P.S. In this crisis, now more than ever, we exist to serve you. Please do not hesitate to contact us with your needs and suggestions.