Many churches are pro-life and even donate to pro-life organizations. But what does it mean to be holistically pro-life? And is simply giving money what it looks like to engage with life-honoring ministries?

Eric Verstraete, President and CEO of Life Matters Worldwide, says, “There’s a difference between the church being anti-abortion and actually being pro-life.” Caring for mothers and fathers facing unplanned pregnancies, providing tangible needs for struggling families, supporting adoption efforts — these are all just a few examples of what it means to champion life.

So how can believers better support these holistically pro-life efforts? Verstraete says it’s crucial for pro-life Christians to engage with pro-life ministries doing the work on the ground, and that’s often done best through your local church!

This year, Life Matters is rolling out a new church engagement model to better connect local churches with pregnancy care centers. Many of these churches already financially support their local pregnancy care center, but that may be it in terms of involvement and support.

Verstraete says a church that is fully engaged in supporting a ministry will do these five things:

“Notice that four of those five have absolutely nothing to do with money,” Verstraete says. “I think that’s really important. Most churches, when nonprofits or ministries come to them and ask them to be involved, most churches believe that that ministry is coming and asking for their money.

SOURCE: Mission Network News, Lyndsey Koh

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In three short months, COVID-19 turned the entire world upside-down. See our full coronavirus coverage here. Now, all eyes are on India as infections rise in the world’s second-most populated nation.

Keeping the virus contained with 1.3+ billion people and a failed healthcare system is challenging, to say the least, but efforts are underway. Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi started a three-week national lockdown, but it could be too little, too late.

“Travel from one state to the next is prohibited; all transportation has been shut down. People are filled with all kinds of anxiety,” says Todd Van Ek of Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Mission India.

And yet, hope remains.

“God is still at work and creating great opportunities to share the name of Jesus Christ with others.”

Typically, India is one of the world’s most difficult places to be a Christian. More about that here. Religious radicals and government oppression challenge Gospel growth. However, “persecution has radically decreased because people are so consumed with the coronavirus,” Van Ek says.

In fact, “Parliament was going to meet and consider a national anti-conversion law, but then they shut Parliament down so it didn’t even come up for discussion,” he adds. “So, we see a lot of positive even in the midst of all the problems that come with COVID-19.”

As described here, the nationwide “shelter-in-place” order ended Mission India’s typical ministry activities. However, “we’re still doing ministry; just the way we’re doing it has changed,” Van Ek explains.

SOURCE: Mission Network News, Katey Hearth

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Through partnerships with local churches, the Program for Theological Education by Extension (PTEE) believes they can obtain the future renewal of their accreditation for their affordable, accessible online programs serving believers across the Arab world.

Rick Weymouth, who serves as PTEE’s director of e-learning, explains that while PTEE recently received accreditation renewal for their regular face-to-face programs, they’re already preparing for the future of PTEE’s online education.

“We’re accredited by the Asia Theological Association. We’re also accredited by the Middle East and North African Association for Theological Education. One of the things the accrediting agencies are saying to us is that you have to continue to offer online education in a holistic fashion,” he says.

“Holistic means that we are not just training the students in terms of growing their knowledge and understanding of the Bible, critical thinking skills and intellectual formation, but we’re also involved in spiritual formation, character formation, practical ministry formation, and ministry skill formation.”

While the online curriculum certainly covers these topics, PTEE recognizes the key role of mentorships and relationships in the development of their students. Weymouth says this is where local church partnerships come in.

“In order to gain accreditation for our online programs in the future, we will have to engage in an intentional partnership with the churches of each of our students,” he explains. “Our students will put us in touch with leaders in their church to provide accountability and an assessment of how they’re growing in those spiritual and ministry formation areas, including character formation.”

SOURCE: Mission Network News, Rachel Pfeiffer

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The coronavirus is but one of the problems emerging on every front in Afghanistan. Another is an attack claimed by the Islamic State that killed 25 earlier this week at a Sikh temple.

“Even if there is peace with the Taliban, the Islamic State is still active in Afghanistan and they are still willing to carry out these kinds of attacks,” Voice of the Martyrs USA spokesman Todd Nettleton says, citing a February peace deal between the U.S. and Taliban representatives.

Politics add another layer of complexity. Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah both claim to be Afghanistan’s president, even though Ghani was deemed the election winner in February. U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo announced the end of $1 billion in aid payments to Afghanistan on Monday, with another $1 billion cut scheduled for 2021.

Afghanistan may seem hopeless, but, “God is at work,” Nettleton says.

“Twenty years ago, we talked about just a handful of Christian believers in the whole country, and today we talk about believers in every single province.”

SOURCE: Mission Network News, Katey Hearth

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Welcome to the How to Stay the Coronavirus Plague Briefing Podcast #6. My name is Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International.

Deuteronomy 28:59 says, “Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.”

The Bible Knowledge Commentary says, “In carrying out the curses on disobedient Israel, God would undo all the previous blessings He had lavished on her. Whereas Israel had previously escaped the fearful plagues and diseases of Egypt, God would bring them on Israel. He would also bring other kinds of sickness not recorded in this Book of the Law. Whereas God had multiplied her number as the stars in the sky, Israel would be reduced to a few in number. Once she lived in security, but now she would live in anxiety, despair, and in constant suspense and fear for her life.”

Leonard Ravenhill said, “The Church right now has more fashion than passion, is more pathetic than prophetic, is more superficial than supernatural.”

2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Revelation 2:18-24 says:

18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;

19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.

20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.

2 Samuel 24:9-15 says:

9 And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.

10 And David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the Lord, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O Lord, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.

11 For when David was up in the morning, the word of the Lord came unto the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,

12 Go and say unto David, Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three things; choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.

13 So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days’ pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.

14 And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.

15 So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.

1. Mr. President, God is not going to allow you to open up the country or even part of the country successfully by Easter, neither will most churches be packed on Easter Sunday morning as you would like. That is a great thought but that will not be happening. Therefore, we are calling on you to go ahead and shut down the nation completely and immediately for at least a full thirty days. Please understand Mr. President even though you may be very smart when it comes to politics and the economy, this is not a political issue and this is not an economic issue and it is really not a medical issue, it is a spiritual issue. And until the spiritual issue of sin in the church, in the government, and in the nation is dealt with, the plague will not be stopped.

2. As I have already told you, if you want this plague to be stayed or stopped, you need to ask Franklin Graham, Jack Graham, Tony Evans, Dwight McKissic, John MacArthur and Anne Graham Lotz to lead a massive nationwide prayer time morning, noon, and night, each day in churches across the nation and publicly at the White House. And basically what you can do is have Franklin Graham or someone appointed by Franklin Graham to open up your briefing everyday with prayer. As you know Mr. President, this is not unprecedented as many presidents in the past have done something similar. We do not want to get into this with you, you can let Paula White keep her job so she can support her family but you need to remove her from over your advisory council and replace her with Franklin Graham or someone else. And these people and others need to lead all churches to publicly denounce all of the sins that are common in the church today such as: adultery, fornication, taking God’s blessings for granted, unthankfulness, ungratefulness, child molestation, and the church’s increasing support of homosexuality, homosexual marriage, homosexual adoption, and the homosexual agenda.

3. You need to immediately roll back everything that President Obama has done regarding having the government to sanction homosexuality, homosexual marriage, and the homosexual agenda, including starting something in the lower level courts that would go to the Supreme Court to overturn the decision regarding homosexuality, homosexual marriage and the homosexual agenda just as you did about abortion. You must understand Mr. President, that God hates all sin but He especially has a problem with the abomination of homosexuality because it is a satanic attempt to turn God’s world upside down. You need to take back and apologize for what you said in support of homosexuality, homosexual marriage, and the homosexual agenda. And you need to immediately remove the openly homosexual Ambassador Richard Grenell from over United States National Intelligence. Mr. President, one of the main reasons why God worked a miracle and put you in office was to turn back the foolishness that President Obama started of sanctioning men with men and women with women and to this point you have not done so probably because of your friend and mentor Roy Cohn who was an openly homosexual man and died of AIDS and because of your daughter and son-in-law who have many dealings with the homosexual community. If you don’t do what I’m telling you, you will go down in history as one of the worst presidents along with Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter and you will lose your legacy just like Obama has lost his legacy.

NEWS

According to the AP, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for the new coronavirus, the first leader of a major nation to contract COVID-19.

According to the AP, health officials said Britain had 14,579 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 759 people have died — 181 deaths in 24 hours, the country’s highest daily toll yet.

According to Daily Mail, Italy has reported 919 new deaths from coronavirus, the highest number of fatalities any country has reported in the space of 24 hours since the outbreak began late last year.

CHURCH

Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

Jason Helopoulos said, “A Christian home must be centered upon Christ, and if it is centered upon Christ, then it will be filled with worship. Most Christians are aware of the importance of secret and corporate worship, but fewer have even heard of family worship. What is family worship? It is pretty simple. Tonight, sit down with your family on the couch or at the dinner table. And then pray together, read the Bible together, and sing a great hymn of the faith together. There are many reasons for doing family worship, but let us just mention a handful. Family worship glorifies and honors God. Family worship has the wonderful effect of centering our homes upon Christ.” And daily Family worship will not always make family life easier but it should be better. And it will give each family the grace to deal with other family members providing each family member is saved.

——

Now, if you are with us today and you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, allow me to show you how you can place your faith and trust in Him for Salvation from sin and Hell.

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 18:8: “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Now that is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.

Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.

If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at [email protected] and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

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The shackles of tyranny are slowly falling off the Sudanese Church. Sudan’s transitional government is taking significant steps towards freedom ever since former dictator Omar al-Bashir was ousted last April.

Earlier this month, Sudan’s Minister of Religious Affairs Nasreldin Mofreh dissolved committees that were used by the Islamist regime to confiscate church properties – a move praised by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Now, Sudan’s Transitional Military Council has proposed a bill to remove the death penalty for apostasy. The bill would instead make it a crime to accuse someone of apostasy.

We spoke with Philemon*, a pastor in Sudan who says the Church shouldn’t waste the Gospel doors opening in Sudan.

“We are praying [about] what really we need to do. Maybe we need to have this opportunity to build churches that have no building, and to have an opportunity to share the Bible openly… and preach and go to some areas that we see [as] unreached areas.”

SOURCE: Mission Network News, Lyndsey Koh

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Protests in Iraq are “on hold” for the foreseeable future. Coronavirus closures and curfews are forcing people inside, effectively putting an end to demonstrations. The anti-government movement began in October and quickly became the largest uprising since Saddam Hussein’s fall in 2003.

Samuel with Redemptive Stories says Iraqis now have a bigger problem on their hands.

“Really, it’s like a crisis within another crisis. COVID has only exacerbated some of the already existing economic issues,” he says.

As described here, several factors contribute to Iraq’s perilous condition. The government has been operating in caretaker mode since December. Falling oil prices mean state revenue is down, and the coronavirus pandemic cut tourism income.

“We’re hearing reports [of] families [who] don’t have any food, so they’re relying on their neighbors and the kindness of others in order to provide.”

SOURCE: Mission Network News, Katey Hearth

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Two children will now live as a result of sidewalk counselors’ faithfulness in the midst of coronavirus restrictions.

Pastor Anthony Mathenia of Christ Church in Radford leads a sidewalk counseling ministry at Virginia abortion centers. In light of Governor Ralph Northam’s Executive Order and sidewalk counselors who were recently arrested in North Carolina, Pastor Mathenia sought legal guidance from Liberty Counsel to determine if his team could continue their ministry despite recent restrictions on public gatherings. Liberty Counsel advised the pastor that church members could minister outdoors with appropriate distance between each person on the sidewalk.

This week, several of the pro-life counselors were ministering on the sidewalk in front of an abortion center when a mother brought her teenage daughter for an abortion. When the teen opened her car door, the counselors tried to speak with her, and she slammed the door twice. The teen’s mother then drove her to the other entrance of the abortion clinic. Here, the teenager got out of the car and closed the door behind her. She listened to the counselors as they offered to help her and pray with her. She then got back into the car and they drove away.

About 30 minutes later, the teen and her mother returned and drove directly to the counselors. The teenager opened the door and asked where they could get help. The church members gave them resources and directed them to a local crisis pregnancy center. The teenager told them that she had received an ultrasound earlier in the week and learned she was pregnant with twins. She had come back that day to the abortion center to abort them. As a result of the counselors’ presence and the love they showed, this young mother decided to allow her babies to live.

Pastor Mathenia said if it had not been for Liberty Counsel’s help, the team may have missed this opportunity. Liberty Counsel appreciates the boldness of pastors and churches who will stand despite opposition.

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “In the midst of this coronavirus controversy, Liberty Counsel had the privilege to advise pro-life sidewalk counselors who then helped a young mother save her two precious children. Despite government restrictions, the church must continue to exercise religious freedom and minister to people,” said Staver.

SOURCE: Liberty Counsel

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This is Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International with the Whyte House Family Devotional Reading of Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening podcast. This is Episode #78.

Charles Spurgeon was a prominent English Particular Baptist preacher. He was very influential among the Christians of various denominations during his age and even today, and is commonly called the “Prince of Preachers”. After some time of alternately searching for God and running from God, he had a powerful encounter which led him to give his life to Christ. Spurgeon was only 16 when he preached his first sermon and he began publishing books shortly afterward. At the time of his death, he had preached nearly 3,600 sermons and published 49 volumes of commentaries, sayings, anecdotes, illustrations and devotions. Spurgeon said, “encouraging thoughts are like honey to the heart”, and wrote this devotional in hopes that its uplifting messages for each day of the year would bring comfort and refreshment to our walk with God. He was inspired by Isaiah 50:4 which reads, “He wakeneth morning by morning. He wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned” and Psalm 63:5-6 which says, “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips; when I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night watches.”

Matthew 1:21 reads: “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

Many persons, if they are asked what they understand by salvation, will reply, “Being saved from hell and taken to heaven.” This is one result of salvation, but it is not one tithe of what is contained in that boon. It is true our Lord Jesus Christ does redeem all his people from the wrath to come; he saves them from the fearful condemnation which their sins had brought upon them; but his triumph is far more complete than this. He saves his people “from their sins.” Oh! sweet deliverance from our worst foes. Where Christ works a saving work, he casts Satan from his throne, and will not let him be master any longer. No man is a true Christian if sin reigns in his mortal body. Sin will be in us—it will never be utterly expelled till the spirit enters glory; but it will never have dominion. There will be a striving for dominion—a lusting against the new law and the new spirit which God has implanted—but sin will never get the upper hand so as to be absolute monarch of our nature. Christ will be Master of the heart, and sin must be mortified. The Lion of the tribe of Judah shall prevail, and the dragon shall be cast out. Professor! is sin subdued in you? If your life is unholy your heart is unchanged, and if your heart is unchanged you are an unsaved person. If the Saviour has not sanctified you, renewed you, given you a hatred of sin and a love of holiness, he has done nothing in you of a saving character. The grace which does not make a man better than others is a worthless counterfeit. Christ saves his people, not in their sins, but from them. “Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.” “Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” If not saved from sin, how shall we hope to be counted among his people. Lord, save me now from all evil, and enable me to honour my Saviour.

PRAY.

Thank you for listening to the Morning and Evening podcast. If you do not know the Lord as your Savior, here is how you can be saved from Hell and walk with the Lord morning and evening until you go to that wonderful place called Heaven when you die:

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 18:8: “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Now that is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.

Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.

If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at [email protected] and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

It’s a sign of the hardship Americans are experiencing right now that so many have turned to an ancient, little understood and often unappreciated art form in their time of need:

Poetry.

How else to explain the phenomenal success of two widely shared poems by little-known writers that have, appropriately enough for this crisis, gone viral?

“Pandemic” by Lynn Ungar, and “In the Time of Pandemic,” by Kitty O’Meara both initially posted to Facebook, have become sensations online, reposted everywhere. The two poems address how to deal with the anxiety of the coronavirus outbreak and the imposition of stay-at-home orders.

Both address spirituality, if not religion, more broadly:

“What if you thought of it

as the Jews consider the Sabbath—

the most sacred of times?

Cease from travel.

Cease from buying and selling.

Give up, just for now,

on trying to make the world

different than it is,” begins Ungar’s poem.

Both poems preach slowing down, becoming more mindful, seeking out stillness and finding connection with humankind (without touching).

“And the people stayed home,” writes O’Meara. “And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still.”

Kitty O’Meara. Courtesy photo

A 64-year-old retired palliative care chaplain, O’Meara is Catholic and names Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister and Franciscan friar Richard Rohr among her spiritual guides, though she does not attend church.

She lives with her husband, five dogs and three cats on a four-acre plot outside Madison, Wisconsin, that overlooks a river and a bicycle trail. She calls her writing “lit bits” and said the poem came to her without any design or strategy.

“I sat down one day during lunch and posted that on Facebook,” O’Meara said. “I didn’t say it was a poem, an allegory, a fable or an essay. It was just something I posted to my small circle of Facebook friends.”

After getting multiple shares among a growing group of friends, it took off. Three days later, self-help guru Deepak Chopra posted it. So did supermodel Bella Haddid. Oprah’s magazine then came knocking, calling O’Meara “the poet laureate of the pandemic.”

O’Meara said it was news reports that pollution in China’s Hubei Province was lessening as a result of the shutdown that was foremost on her mind when she sat down to write.

But she added, the “Spirit was at least a co-author, if not completely in control, of those words.”

Ungar, 56, has Jewish roots but now serves as a minister in the Church of the Larger Fellowship, an online Unitarian Universalist congregation. She lives in Castro Valley south of Oakland and has published a book of poetry, “Bread and Other Miracles.”

Ungar said she didn’t like the responses she heard to the California stay-at-home orders.

Lynn Ungar. Courtesy photo

“Mostly what we have gotten is either, ‘You should panic,’ or ‘You should not panic, and all is fine,’” she said. “But really, panicking is not a helpful response, and we should not pretend like it’s fine. That’s a bad idea, and it will make things much worse.”

Her poem invokes a third way: “Center down,” an idea that originates in Quaker worship and means to turn one’s attention inward in prayerful silence.

Like O’Meara’s poem, Ungar’s took off almost as soon as she posted it to her Facebook page where she has posted several other poems related to the outbreak.

Since then, she has been compared to the late poet Mary Oliver, and her poem has been shared by the likes of writer and historian Rebecca Solnit and written about in the Chicago Tribune.

She was most touched, she said, when a friend in Tacoma, Washington, sent her a photo of a box outside a private house, where the homeowners had stacked copies of her poem for anyone to pick up.

Ungar said there are similarities between religion and poetry: They are both portals for seeing the world differently and responding differently, she said.

She said her life has changed in the wake of the pandemic. A part-time dog trainer and an enthusiastic contra-dancer, she said she can do neither now. Instead she’s listening to a lot of music, playing with her two Australian shepherds, connecting with friends on the phone and writing more poetry.

“We don’t think of poetry as something we need,” Ungar said. “So for people to be saying, ‘This is what I needed. This helped’ is both gratifying and interesting.”

Source: Religion News Service

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