Cross at Sunrise
Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay
The global coronavirus pandemic confronts us with an event unprecedented in our lifetimes. We are now at a point where we’re facing long-term trauma from both the illness and the social and economic disruptions the pandemic causes. United Methodist Insight’s readers are anxious because the pandemic tests our faith, compassion, and community.
In response to the onslaught of crisis news, Insight is going to limit its coverage to as few articles as needed each day to keep readers informed without overwhelming them. We hope this daily goal will have two other benefits: to keep our weekly newsletter down to a manageable level for subscribers, and to avoid our small editorial staff’s burnout.
At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, United Methodist Insight’s readership hovered somewhere around 10,000 subscribers and followers through email and social media. We continue to be profoundly grateful for our readers’ interest and support. It’s out of that gratitude that we’re attempting to care for your hearts, minds, and souls by not burdening you with more than any of us can handle at this time.
Two other observations:
1) For the time being we will focus editorially on the coronavirus pandemic: how to cope with it spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically; how to adapt “doing church” to it; and how to be the kind of churches our communities need in this dire time. Those who have relied on Insight’s coverage of The United Methodist Church’s efforts to discern its forward path must grasp a new reality: because of the coronavirus pandemic, the denomination’s future is inextricably bound with the kind of world we will have when this crisis has subsided. There simply is no other story, save the Easter Story that we celebrate this week.
2) We need each other. We are far more interdependent with one another, and with God’s creation, than we were willing to acknowledge at the start of 2020. Consequently, we at Insight are eager to hear how conferences, congregations, and individuals are living through this perilous time. We invite you to send us your reflections, prayers, local reports, and story links to our public email, um-insight@as-tex.net.
We pray each day for our Insight community through our sponsoring congregation, St. Stephen United Methodist Church in Mesquite, Texas. St. Stephen holds Morning and Evening Prayer using the book “Celtic Daily Prayer” from the Northumbria Community. We welcome you to join us daily at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. through St. Stephen's Facebook Page.
We will weather this time of pain and sacrifice together with faith, hope, and love because we know the Resurrection is coming.
Cynthia B. Astle, Editor & Founder
John Astle, Associate Editor