I can recall the day exactly in March 2020 when all of the busyness of my life – all my appointments, activities, events and plans – were simply wiped from my calendar: my coworkers and I were told to go home and to stay there until further notice, and everyone was asked to quarantine or at least to limit interpersonal contacts, until more information could be obtained as to the real threat that a new strain of coronavirus represented to our individual lives and indeed for all humankind.

It was a scary time as I recall, as little by little we learned details about this new plague that had set upon the world: hospitals were being overrun, death tolls were rising and there was no known cure for the virus. Places of communal gathering – churches among them – were asked to restrict access and if possible, to shutter their doors completely, which, of course, many did, to the rejoicing of some and the chagrin of others.
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I’m nervous about presenting non-orthodox views about COVID. Some of my mandate-abiding friends will look askance.

“Yes, but … ,” they will say, then demarcate limits of tolerance.

Rigidity was a spiritual variant of COVID. Questions became unwelcome. A singularity of narrative prevailed, spawning a minority reaction.

Friendships withered. Families ruptured. Churches bled members.

The pandemic changed the complexion of society. At this point, can we talk constructively across the lingering divide? Can we find middle ground? Do we even want to? And what of the humble Beatitudes?
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COVID-19 continues to circulate in our communities and may surge again this fall as people return to more indoor activities with others. Vaccination remains one of the most effective ways to protect against serious illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19, and also help protect our healthcare system. That’s why it’s important for everyone, including children, to stay up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines, by receiving all doses recommended for them.
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Caleb Brown was a lead organizer of the Freedom Convoy protest outside the Manitoba legislative building last winter. I asked how he responds to people who dismiss all protesters as white nationalists. I asked how he felt about people who drove by and gave him the finger, as one of my friends did.
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I knew I would eventually have to interview my neighbours who staunchly resisted COVID-19 mandates and proudly supported the Ottawa trucker convoy. Actually I have many such neighbours. But it took a year of working through my pandemic enmity until I was ready to listen to them.
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After 15 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the churches of Canada have begun to take stock of their experiences and make plans for re-opening in the coming months. In some ways, the shared experience of our churches has drawn us together in ways that have significance for the work of Christian unity. In this blog post, I gather a few insights about the churches’ experience in the pandemic.

Many people have noted that the pandemic has revealed to us the inequities of society. Even with a first-class public health system in Canada, we have discovered that some people have greater difficulties accessing health care than others. Poverty, race, age, disability, gender, culture, education, and immigration status are all factors inhibiting the ability of people to access social support or receive the care they need. Of course, this is not a recent discovery but one that, until it was revealed to us by the stark reality of the pandemic, was rarely heard outside the confines of social services and health care policy. Churches have recognized our social capital in forming public opinion and influencing governments, and we are increasingly working together in these areas. During the pandemic, ecumenical and interfaith groups have begun to engage government on policy related to public health, long-term care, vaccination programs, mental health, and spiritual care.
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