Dear Friends,
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. On March 13, churches in the Diocese of Toronto and right across the ecclesiastical province of Ontario closed their doors. York University, University of Toronto and Toronto Metropolitan University announced the suspension of all in-person meetings and classes. Then, on March 17 (St. Patrick’s Day), Premier Ford and the Ontario government enacted the declaration of emergency to protect the public. And we went into shutdown. That was five years ago.
Remember. In some ways it feels like yesterday and in other ways it feels like a lifetime ago. Remember what it was like in those early days of shutdown. We were glued to news broadcasts. Medical officers of health, epidemiologists and health experts became so familiar they were like members of the family; we hung on to every word they said. Long term care homes and hospital facilities were overburdened and suffered the rising number of infections and deaths. We ran out of toilet paper. We lined up outside grocery stores and the LCBO. We became acquainted with terms like PPE, social distancing, N95 and KN95. While main street emptied out, wildlife moved in.
Remember. Like Saturday Night Live’s Not Ready for Prime Time Players, Anglicans across the Diocese went live. Remember those first attempts at livestreaming worship, learning how to Zoom and producing YouTube videos. Remember how primitive our first broadcasts were and yet how sincere. Over time, we learned to record the choir, maneuver through worship with three to five people, look to the camera for connection with our communities and to move with creativity. We pivoted, adapted, changed, flattened the curve and moved with an abundance of caution.
Remember. We thought that the whole thing would be over in a matter of weeks. Then we realized we would have to dwell in a new reality. It was a turbulent time and yet it was a seminal season for deepening our faith. Scriptural passages like Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46), Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (I Thessalonians 5), So do not fear, for I am with you (Isaiah 41), and a whole host of others kindled hope and resolve in us.
Remember. Five years may have passed, but we continue to be shaped and formed by the experience. Many of us continue to grieve the loss of family members and friends who perished. Some of us continue to struggle with isolation, loneliness and losing touch. Some of us raced back to our old lives while others of us try to comprehend what has happened. The lessons we learned in pandemic will continue to challenge and bless us as we understand how to be the Church in these times.
On this fifth anniversary, I am profoundly grateful for the ways we navigated and for the ways we were guided through the pandemic. I continue to be moved by the way pew dwellers and priests, bishops and regional deans, chancellors and committee members, staff and volunteers, deacons and youth leaders, outreach workers and choristers, chancel guilds and ACW, curates and incumbents, custodians and treasurers, worked together, prayed together and banded together as the Body of Christ. We have arrived in this moment not only by our own efforts but by the grace and love of God. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Yours in Christ,
The Rt. Rev. Andrew Asbil
Bishop of Toronto
