My family and I had just come home from spending time with our family in Arizona, only to enter quarantine on March 15. We wanted to start on our district travels, beginning with our biannual board meeting. Well, that didn’t occur. The March and April calendars were filled with different district-wide functions, but they were cancelled or postponed.
As a ministries director for women, my calendar cleared up quickly. It made me sad, and I wondered how I would fill the time. But God had other plans.
I began receiving requests that needed to be filled by our Prayer Shawl Ministry. In two weeks, we sent out eleven prayer shawls and one coverlet for those needing prayer due to the virus and hospitalization. Recently, another three went to friends of members. We have done 22 prayer shawls since the quarantine began.
I thank God for the technology He has provided. We are holding women’s meetings, devotions, prayer time, and chat time on Zoom. Our Ossining, New York women’s group did a group meeting recently, and members from various churches joined in. We retreated with several women from Boston, Bridgeport, Winchester, and other cities.
In mid-April our own local women’s group Bible study met online. It was great to see others and have a study and “catch up” time.
Church is still going on. It may not be as we know it, but we must remember we are the church, so we will continue to minister in ways that God provides.
Bringing comfort. Women Equipping Women in the NED have been busy! They made a prayer blanket for Pastor Donald Gouldbourne (Boston, MA), who was having major health issues, and sent it to him in March. In late January, Laura Sinai Chavez in Fort Wayne, IN (Warsaw St. congregation) was scheduled for surgery, so her mom requested a prayer afghan for her.
I am a discipleship cell leader. In this time of pandemic, I am sending devotionals to twenty brothers daily. At the same time, I remind them to all pray at 7:00 p.m. as Pastor Antonio Vega suggested. In my home we have Bible study on Thursdays and Fridays. — Areli Vega, Church of God, Lanham, MD
The Lanham, Maryland congregation has been reaching out during the coronavirus outbreak. Read what their various ministries are doing at churchright.org.
