Violetta Frega may hold a record for earliest church attendance following birth.
A Pastoral Letter to the Clergy and People of
the Diocese of Newark
and the Diocese of New Jersey
From The Right Reverend Carlye J. Hughes, Bishop of Newark
and The Right Reverend William H. Stokes, Bishop of New Jersey
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
Bishop Hughes looks back at these eight Sundays that we have not been in our church buildings and that we have worshiped from at home, and asks, "What is God doing with us right now?"
Right now in Northern New Jersey, whole families are food insecure because schools are closed and there are no school lunches; seniors cannot get out to shop safely; others have no access to cars; and so many in New Jersey have lost or will lose jobs.
What does ministry look like? Sometimes it looks like an open hatchback.
Bishop Hughes invites all of us to do something that might be a first for us – to write down our prayers during this pandemic and share them with the diocese, as a way to help each other. (Time: 4:13.)
This is Bishop Hughes in the Diocese of Newark and I want to talk with you about prayer. Prayer has been on my mind, and especially because I keep wondering about the specific prayers we might be saying on our own in response to living through a pandemic.
Prayer is an amazing resource for us at all times, but especially when life is tough.
When Birgitta Karlen of Church of the Atonement in Tenafly learned that COVID-19 was forcing local healthcare workers to stay on their units for their entire 12-hour shifts, she asked what they needed. The response was simple: bottled water.
There can be a point when dealing with this pandemic where not only does our spiritual health need help but our emotional and mental health need help. Bishop Hughes reminds us that there is no shame in asking for that.
The spring of 2020 is unlike anything any of us have ever experienced, and we have lost a great deal. It is important to acknowledge that, while we may be grateful for many things, many things have changed, and in some cases, things have been lost that cannot be regained.
