Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Faith in a Time of Pandemic
    Faith in a Time of Pandemic
    Faith in a Time of Pandemic
    Ebook64 pages55 minutes

    Faith in a Time of Pandemic

    By Bruce G. Epperly

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    How can we respond spiritually when a pandemic hits our nation? How can our faith help us to face our fears, going beyond panic and denial, to hopeful and courageous action?

    The Coronavirus is changing everything in our society. It can provoke isolation and self-interested individualism. It can also inspire kindness, generosity, patience, and compassion. Facing the pandemic with God as our companion will deepen our sense of agency as well as peace and move us from self-interest and nation-first to planetary loyalty.

    This text provides a theological, pastoral, and spiritual pathway to help you, your family, and congregation find your way through the wilderness of the Coronavirus pandemic.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherEnergion Publications
    Release dateMar 24, 2020
    ISBN9781631994647
    Faith in a Time of Pandemic

    Read more from Bruce G. Epperly

    Related to Faith in a Time of Pandemic

    Titles in the series (52)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Christianity For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Samuel Rodriguez

      Jul 26, 2022

      Samuel Rodriguez
      2 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The Editor

      May 20, 2019

      Are you discouraged? Many times we become so discouraged by our situation, our circumstance, our trial, or our tribulations, that we forget that we are part of something bigger than this, something bigger than what we are going through, something bi

      6 min read

    • Article

      The Art Of Forgiveness

      May 18, 2022

      The Art Of Forgiveness
      4 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The EDITOR

      Jul 22, 2022

      Dear readers, we love to hear your thoughts on the stories that we publish, what is going on around the world, and what the Lord has placed on your heart! Email your letter through to editor@joymag.co.za for a chance to be featured – please try to ke

      9 min read

    • Article

      The Art Of Forgiveness

      May 18, 2022

      The Art Of Forgiveness
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Love That Lifts Us From Despair

      Mar 13, 2019

      Even when it seems there’s no end to what’s wrong in the world, God’s limitless love is here, inspiring hope, wisdom, and strength to overcome the bad and to be and do good.

      1 min read

    • Article

      ‘Socially Acceptable’ Sins

      Apr 22, 2022

      In the church today, there are many sins that are seen as ‘socially acceptable’. Are we changing the Bible to fit our culture, or are we changing our culture to fit the Bible? While the sin of worry, for example, may not seem as severe as murder, it

      6 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The EDITOR

      Jul 21, 2023

      D ear readers, we love to hear your thoughts on the stories that we publish, what is going on around the world, and what the Lord has placed on your heart! Email your letter through to editor@joymag.co.za for a chance to be featured – please try to k

      6 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The Editor

      Jul 30, 2021

      Dear readers, we love to hear your thoughts on the stories that we publish, what is going on around the world, and what the Lord has placed on your heart! Email your letter through to editor@joymag.co.za for a chance to be featured – please try to ke

      7 min read

    • Article

      Tough Minds and Tender Hearts

      Sep 4, 2020

      How do we live in a world that is so heavily bombarded by ideas trafficked through social media? In writing on one of today’s hot topics – the issue of social justice – author Darrow Miller speaks of the need for Christians to develop and maintain to

      1 min read

    • Article

      The Split: Why We Lost Consciousness and Need to Wake Up

      Dec 15, 2020

      — Centuries ago, we lost something very precious. It radically changed the course of our evolution, progressively disconnecting us from our humanity and bringing us to the brink of destruction. Deprived of this vital nourishment, we have fallen prey

      10 min read

    • Article

      Someone I Love Is Hurting

      Jan 24, 2023

      Someone I Love Is Hurting
      4 min read

    • Article

      How To Boost Your Emotional Immunity

      Jul 6, 2022

      If a mad scientist could come up with a vaccination that gave us emotional immunity, we would be all lining up no matter how long the wait. Alas, there is no such thing … or is there? None of us is immune to emotional pain, but we can build up our im

      7 min read

    • Article

      Redefining Your World View

      May 20, 2022

      Redefining Your World View
      1 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The Editor

      Sep 24, 2021

      Dear readers, we love to hear your thoughts on the stories that we publish, what is going on around the world, and what the Lord has placed on your heart! Email your letter through to editor@joymag.co.za for a chance to be featured – please try to ke

      7 min read

    • Article

      Man On Fire

      Nov 19, 2020

      Man On Fire
      4 min read

    • Article

      Bringing Our Prayers To The Threat Of Contagion

      Jan 28, 2020

      Amid reports of contagion, it can seem inevitable for a percentage of us to be vulnerable and in danger. But prayer that encompasses everyone and acknowledges God as the inexhaustible source of health can lift us out of the swirl of fear and be a cal

      3 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The Editor

      Apr 13, 2020

      I would like to congratulate Desiree Mansfield on her wonderful and insightful article in JOY’s Feb/Mar issue, “Are We Cursed Because Of Our Government’s Decision On Israel?” This is an article nearer the truth than most people will realise and sadly

      8 min read

    • Article

      THE WAR FOR OUR YOUTH Why creation still matters

      Dec 30, 2019

      We’re being told by public education systems, universities, media, some parents, and unfortunately many church leaders, that parts of the Bible are not relevant anymore and that we need to reinvent God’s word. So, with this situation, in order to und

      3 min read

    • Article

      Shaping Our Course Spiritward

      Oct 17, 2019

      A piece in today’s Daily highlights how traditional religious codes such as the Ten Commandments still make a difference in people’s lives. Here’s an article exploring the idea that glimpsing our spiritual origin as God’s children has a healing effec

      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Faith in a Time of Pandemic

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Faith in a Time of Pandemic - Bruce G. Epperly

      9781631994623_fc.jpg

      Faith

      In a Time of Pandemic

      Bruce Epperly

      Energion Publications

      Gonzalez, Florida

      2020

      Copyright © 2020, Bruce Epperly

      Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U. S. A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

      Scriptures marked PA are the author’s paraphrase.

      ISBN: 978-1-63199-462-3

      eISBN: 978-1-63199-464-7

      Energion Publications

      PO Box 841

      Gonzalez, FL 32560

      https://energion.com

      pubs@energion.com

      Table of Contents

      Introduction The Living of These Days 1

      Chapter One Faith with All Our Fears 5

      Chapter Two Faith That Has Said Its Prayers 12

      Chapter Three All the Wrong Answers 18

      Chapter Four God is with You 27

      Chapter Five We are Connected 31

      Chapter Six A Time for Kindness 35

      Introduction

      The Living of These Days

      This morning I arose before sunrise, went out on my patio and gazed at stars light-years beyond Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where I call home. A few hours later, after a time of morning meditation and writing, I headed to Craigville Beach for my daily walk. It was a glorious morning. Bright and cheery as the sun rose over Hyannis Port and Nantucket on the horizon. All was well with the world as I took my solitary walk. But this morning something was different. On my way home, I stopped at the local gas station to fill up a five-gallon gas can just in case the stations would be closed in the future.

      This Sunday would be different. I would be broadcasting our worship service online. Our leadership had decided to suspend worship for the next two weeks, and then reevaluate our worship and programming activities due to concerns over COVID-19, the Coronavirus. I pondered as I began a two-week period, minimally, of self-sequestering with my family, apart from walks in the woods and beaches. Absenting from worship, meetings, eating out, and my favorite coffee house, I would be ordering my groceries online to be delivered at home later in the week. Life is different today. Even more so than the days following September 11, 2011. Our lives are physically and relationally smaller, and we are afraid.

      We are coming to terms for what we hope is the temporary new normal. We also fear that in some ways our lives will change forever. We know the dangers of denial. Governmental denial has rendered us unprepared for this crisis and our government is now playing catch up with medical tests, institutional regulations, vaccine research, and respirators. We have come to realize that fear is equally dangerous in not only suppressing our immune systems, poisoning our relationships, and destroying the fabric of society and government. As the day progressed and the governor of Massachusetts, the state where I live, called on the state to close restaurants, bars, and ban gatherings with over 25 persons, the reality of this new normal set in. In many households, denial and fear morphed into depression and anger, and the reality that the world has radically changed and we weren’t prepared for it politically, economically, spiritually, or emotionally. We are behind the curve and need to change our ways of thinking and action before it’s too late!

      1 John 4:18 asserts that there is no fear in love, perfect love casts out all fear. As Thomas Paine says, these are the times that try men’s souls — and not just men’s souls! These are times in which faith and fear join in the quest for hopeful action and compassionate care in responding to real crises that threaten everything we hold dear. We can live by fear, closing the circle of love to include only those in our immediate families and letting the rest of the world go to hell. We can live also by love. Love that is prudent, but also generous and

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1