This past weekend was a stressful time for many of us in the wake of the COVID-19 virus update. I received a call on Saturday from Dr. D.J. Hall from the Mayo Clinic in Minneapolis, Minn. He is a longtime Advent Christian who loves our denomination and has a deep concern for us and the church as a whole. He reached out to me to share with our churches the recommendations on limiting our public gatherings to slow down the spread of the virus. So ACGC sent out a message to our E-News contacts. I appreciate your reading that and taking whatever action you saw fit from it.

I have been in contact with Dr. Hall again and he shared the following:

Currently the ongoing national efforts continue to encourage social distancing and avoiding large gatherings. Here at Mayo, we have moved all meetings to digital access. And the limit on what classifies as a group has now dropped to 10. It has been great to see the support in attempts to slow the wave. However, many frontline healthcare workers are walking around with an unshakable anxiousness of not knowing what will happen next. As the government moves to close restaurants, schools and other gatherings, we are so thankful this is being taken seriously, but the sacrifice is not lost on us either. In my life I cannot think of a time where such solidarity has occurred (even if guided by the government) to help protect our fellow citizens. As a physician and a Christian, seeing others focusing on how to put others ahead of ourselves is overwhelming. In the coming days it will continue to be a time of patience, ongoing social distancing and holding the line. I think of my grandfather in these moments and his ever-present reminder of “Maybe today.” This is not only a source of great comfort, but also a reminder of how the actions we take now change the trajectory for so many. Additionally, I would encourage everyone to call someone from their church body and someone who is not from the church to ease the burden of loneliness and to make sure no one is facing this anxiousness alone. Thank you so much for your willingness to connect and I’m happy to be an ongoing point of contact.

We realize the hardship these cancelations cause and the isolation it creates among our members. Each of you must prayerfully consider what God would have you do in your specific circumstances, and please know we are praying for all of our ministries around the world through this time.

Below, I have included an invitation I received through the National Association of Evangelicals about an online church summit to help churches explore how they can minister during this time. I contacted the host and they encourage as many as possible to participate. As I understand, you can listen to this at your convenience after the summit happens on March 26 and 27.

I pray as we move forward that the world may see the love, compassion and grace of Jesus Christ evident in our response to this crisis.