"We don't know how much longer we can grieve like this"

June 21, 2021

Dear parents and families,

I read an article on Thursday from The New York Times with a staggering headline: “Coronavirus Briefing: 600,000 dead.” Author Jonathan Wolfe writes, “Mercifully, the pace of deaths in the U.S. has slowed, which wasn’t the case for most of the pandemic” (2021). Thanks to the brilliance and innovation of science and modern medicine, we avoided another massive surge in the spring months. As of Thursday morning, 44.6% of adults in the US are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. That is wonderful and welcome news, especially as we reflect on all we have lost.

Despite the progress the US has made in the fight against COVID-19, a grim fact remains within our midst: over 600,000 people have lost their lives to the virus. 600,000 families are grieving their loved ones. 600,000 of God’s beloved no longer walk the earth. Yesterday a member of a family here said to me, “We don’t know how much longer we can grieve like this.”

COVID-19 was not God's fault. God is so immensely full of grief for all the people who have lost their lives to the disease. God hurts for the people who have lost friends and family to the disease. God knows that we are in pain right now. As we read in the Wisdom of Solomon, "God did not make death." However, God is here to take the burden of anger, sadness, anxiety, grief, and all the things you may be feeling right now. Talk to God. Be honest. Be vulnerable. God's presence is with us always.

Even during the “summer slowdown,” I am here to support families in faith. This includes hearing from you: how are you doing? What can I do to help nourish faith in your family? Do you just need a shoulder to cry on, or someone with whom you can get coffee? Would you like to join a book club with other families and parents going through the same thing? Do you simply need rest?

Please do not hesitate to reach out if I can support faith in your family or provide care at this time. The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel and the Rev. Barb Ballenger are here as clergy resources, as well.

Continued prayers to all now and always,

Anne Alexis