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Pastor Paul: When isolation becomes compounded

Today I am focusing on a condition that I became acutely aware of yesterday, one that I will call “isolation within isolation." These are the situations where the effects of the isolation requirement are compounded, especially and unfairly for those who are experiencing medical conditions other than those involving the coronavirus.

Yesterday I spoke with Donovan Johnson, who continues to reside at Brookdale, but has been doing so for the past months without the joy of sharing his apartment with Carol.  Carol has been convalescing at a care facility in Bremerton after a brief stint at Harrison.  Until two weeks ago, Donovan would take public transportation to go and see her every other day, but since both facilities instituted policies prohibiting visitors, they have been unable to be together. 

Likewise, I spoke with Myrna Johnson yesterday, whose husband Bud has been in Harrison for over a week with some heart/lungs concerns. She also has been prevented from visiting Bud, as have all family members.

When people are in a medical crisis, their physical and mental health and healing depend a lot on the support and comfort they receive from the familiar, from the recognizable.  Just when everything seems foreign and confusing, overwhelming and anxiety-producing, those familiar support systems are so important … especially in hospital/rehab settings.  In the same way the family benefits from the reassurance that comes from seeing the one who is requiring special care.  The ache compounds. 

I request your prayers for those in such special circumstances, as well as for those serving them, who often receive the brunt of their frustration.  I also gently remind you, that when those who are around you, ALWAYS AROUND YOU, are getting on your nerves, their familiarity a bit too familiar, to somehow give thanks that you are together, you are in the same room, that you are not alone, for they and God are with you.

Together in our isolation,

Pastor Paul

Pastor Paul: 'We/Us' Bethany's preferred pronoun

Dear Bethanians,

Pronouns are important.  Frequently we see at the bottom of communications the pronouns preferred by the author (he/him; she/her; they/they).  This is an identifier, a way of a person expressing how they would like to be seen and addressed. It promotes respectful and clear communication (once we get used to the preferences). 

In these days of COVID 19 concerns, I would like to suggest another approach to pronouns. Perhaps we can focus on “us/we/them” as our preferred pronoun.  In a time when living as community is so important, the “I” as it refers to accomplishments, mandates, leadership, feels more distancing than communal, but the “we/us” feels inviting and connecting.  Oh, please continue to use the “I/me” when you are sharing your sorrow or fear, your aches or your disappointments; let us not lost our ability to express our personal emotions in such an uncertain time. But as we move forward through days of intentional isolation and challenges that are both individual and communal, let us be together, let us claim our pronoun, our preferred pronoun, as “We/Us,” as in “we are the Body of Christ.”

Pastor Paul (he/him)