Hope

A Talk with Steve Noblett on Coronavirus and the Church

This summary is a combination of what Steve Noblett said, and Norm Wetterau’s memory and interpretation. Listen to the full presentation under events on our website. Go to 152 minutes or listen to all the talks.

Revival is often preceded by Great Tribulation. Are We and our Churches Ready for this?

We asked Steve Noblett, executive director of the Christian Community Health Fellowship to share his thoughts on how the church might respond to this epidemic. His talk started with a surprise that he had not told me about in the conversations leading up to his agreement to speak. A year ago, he had been diagnosed with metastatic melanoma and told he had only months to live. He had a severe reaction to his first treatment, so treatment was stopped, and he prepared to die, but many people in the CCHF and others prayed. To his surprise, he was totally healed of this, and when asked what this meant, he said he did not know except that 2020 is the scariest and most wonderful year for him to be alive.

In talking to him before the program, he said that the problem is not just coronavirus. The epidemic has shown us that many things we had great faith in were not as good as we thought: the medical system, the economy, our political system, and our society as a whole with great economic and social divisions. Suddenly the effect of racism and poverty on dying from the coronavirus, among other things became clear. Our churches had to be closed but even if they were open what should they say? So I asked, is there any hope or anything to talk about? He did speak, so the answer was a resounding yes.

He started by asking, what is God trying to do? He is doing what he has done in every generation: he is advancing the kingdom of God. This kingdom is tangible and among us. He does this in every generation, but at times there may be special events that allow his purposes to be advanced much more than usual, and he feels that this may be one of those times. One previous time was at Pentecost. Peter quotes the prophet Joel, but this quote has two parts: God’s spirit being poured out on all people and the fact that the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord: Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Steve sees terrible trouble and tribulation connected with revival. He thinks this may be one of those times. In a very great outpouring of God, there can be great advancement, but also great collapse. He thinks that is what we may be seeing at this time.

He spoke of Romans 8:19-24 19.

For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?

He did not feel that God sent Covid as a judgment, but it came and it revealed that our medical, economic, and social systems were inadequate systems that we had always depended on, so our reaction is to stop the destruction. We want to make it right again, but it can never be that way. because in a way our economic system and social structures are not that right. Our hope cannot be in what has been, but in what God can bring about. Our medical system is stressed, our economy, social structures, and education system are collapsing. These systems, although not all bad, are not held together by God. and they are collapsing. So, what does this mean? He does not know but said we must turn to God for the meaning. The church cannot receive all that God has if we are simply trying to put together the old: whether medically. socially or in our lives and churches. Do we believe that God has something for us? Will he pour out his spirit? Are we ready? Is this what we want?

The creation is groaning and what do people want? They want freedom, security, health, life, and community. All these things are products of the kingdom, but we have been living in the kingdom without the king. Some of the weaknesses are in the church, so there may be changes in society but there may also be changes in the church. Too often the church has preached a gospel of individualism. We have to capture all aspects of the kingdom as it affects individuals and our society. He talked about labor pains and how in the midst of labor one does not give up. A new child is born, and this is what Paul is referring to. We need to see our current troubles as such. What is coming next? (listen to his talk to get the full and somewhat humorous description of this.)

Our hope is not in a society that is falling apart but in a kingdom that cannot be shaken. This is a time where we can represent hope. We can represent life and we can represent security. We can step into this current situation and proclaim the whole kingdom. Now the walls are down, and people are open to connecting to us and may be open to the kingdom. It is a time to connect. We need to also listen and learn how we walk forward together.

He really believes that if we recognize our role and the churches rise to it, we can see the greatest awaking we have ever seen in our lifetime, perhaps in history, and he thinks it will be global. He encouraged us to take a different world view. Don’t forget the pain and reality, don’t deny the pandemic but step into the situation with unity, humility, and faithfulness to the gospel.


Stories from Long Term Care and the COVID-19 Crisis

By: Kathy Petteys, Chaplain with Heritage Ministries

Originally a Webinar presentation on 9/19/20.

I am Chaplain Kathy.  I am a Chaplain with Heritage Ministries that is based out of Gerry, New York.  I work in three assisted living homes in Jamestown, NY and a Nursing Home located in Western, PA.  I want to capture the story of the people living in long term care during this present Covid19 crises.  The Elder’s story I am going to share is a composite of the many Elders God has given me the gift of knowing and walking with as their Chaplain.  


I know they care, but time is always of the essence in getting a job done.  I never thought I would become someone’s job.

My name is Agnes Rosella Maloney.  I was born in 1936.  I ended up in a nursing home due to a series of strokes.  I could no longer take care of myself and it was too much to expect my family to take care of me.  My kids are scattered everywhere.  Only a couple of my kids stayed in the home area.  I lost my home of 40 years, two of my children died as adults (I had 7), I lost my husband 10 years ago, several siblings and of course my parents.  I feel like my life these days has been nothing but losses... Losing my independence has been so difficult for me.  Then having to have different aids give me baths and take me to the bathroom has been embarrassing for me.  I am wheel-chaired bound. They have so many to take care of it is almost impossible to sit and have a conversation just about the weather or things I enjoy talking about.  I know they care, but time is always of the essence in getting a job done.  I never thought I would become someone’s job. 

I have had a full life, but it is not over yet, I am still here.  I want you to know my story.  I have a story; everyone does.  I was born into a large family.  I was the baby of the family.  My home growing up did not have a television.  I remember December of 1941.  It was an exciting time because Christmas was coming and all my family was going to be together.  My older siblings were coming home.  I will never forget the day that our lives changed forever. It was December 7, 1941.  We were all sitting around the radio when the news came that Pearl Harbor was hit.  I remember my older teenage brothers saying to each other, “tomorrow we need to go and enlist.”  And that is what they did.  We were thrown into WWII.  Christmas of 1941 was not what we were dreaming of.  Three of my brothers left before Christmas that year for military service.  Two came home at the end of the war, one of those had been badly wounded.  We did what families do.  We helped each other out.  My childhood was also impacted by a polio outbreak.  It had struck our country for a third time in 1946. It was so bad that President Harry Truman declared polio a threat to the USA.  There seemed to be someone affected with this disease in every family.  But again as a family, we were there for each other and supported each other and our community as best we could.  Thankfully a vaccine was developed.  

I went on to grow up, get married and have my own family. My husband and I worked hard.  We were a middle-class family and as a young married couple, we did not have the privilege of studying beyond high school.  We had our ups and downs, our struggles and scares. But once again we always had each other as a family and with many friends, we were blessed.  We worked hard to buy our own home.  I was what they call today a traditional housewife. I had the privilege of staying home to care for the family and my parents and in-laws as they aged.  As my children were growing I had nephews I loved sent off to Vietnam.  It was another crazy time in our country.   We saw changes that needed to happen with the Civil Rights moment.  I don’t have time to tell the stories of people I know and the lives they lived.  Our country has seen many changes in my lifetime.  But as always I have had a loving family and a great circle of friends.

I lived a full life and my plan was to die in my own home with family surrounding me.  But the strokes took away my independence and to the nursing home I went to live out the last years of my life.  I had to have a roommate.  My only roommates in life were my sisters and then my husband. But now I was with a total stranger.  I have a strong faith in God so I know He was helping me through with all these changes.  The loss of my home was so hard, everything my husband and I work so hard for was whittled down to a small space.  But that was ok.  I adjusted.  But I still had some of my family and some of my friends who came to see me. 

I love to know about other people’s lives.  I have met folks who also, lost their independence and had to move to this nursing home I live in now.  I have met people who are moms and dads, grandparents, great grandparents, teachers, nurses, engineers, firemen, doctors, farmers, ministers, veterans of WWII and Vietnam, the list goes on and on. Such a wealth of experiences in this nursing home.  I even know people who worked here in their younger years.  Others I have met came to live here quite young due to accidents.

 I was adjusting.  As long as my family could come and see me, it gave me hope.  The hugs, the in-person “I love you”,  the gathering at Thanksgiving and Christmas gave me hope.

I have had regular visits from family.   They would come and celebrate my birthday and holidays.  One of my sons came every Sunday to take me to the church service in the nursing home.  A lady on my floor had a son or daughter come every day to talk with her while she ate breakfast and then they would take her for a stroll in her wheelchair.  When I came to live here we had special trips to the store, the county fair and every week we had Bible Studies we could attend and mid-week devotions.  We also had services for the Catholic folks and the Protestants on Sunday. A group from the Brethren and Amish communities would come and sing for us, often. Their music is absolutely beautiful and full of hope.  I was adjusting.  As long as my family could come and see me, it gave me hope.  The hugs, the in-person “I love you”,  the gathering at Thanksgiving and Christmas gave me hope.  With family and friends around me, I felt like I could get through the many losses I have faced in life.  I could live and really live in a nursing home.  

Then this virus hit out country after Christmas 2019.  COVID-19 is what they call it. Who would ever thought the government would come into my nursing home and tell us we could no longer have in-house visits.  We have a restaurant in our home and that was closed.  We all had to eat isolated in our rooms.  The shocking rules kept coming.  Our hairdresser was not allowed to come in.  NO HAIRCUTS! Some of us had our hair done weekly.  Many of the men had regular hair cuts every other week.  The most shocking thing we were told was that our families and friends were no longer allowed to visit us.  Oh yes, I could see them through a window.  But sometimes there was a glare or I could not hear.  Even though they were only inches away, it felt like they were miles away.  I wanted to hold my new great grandchild, but I could not.  In the nursing home, group activities were stopped and no more gathering for church.  The Catholic deacons could not come in to give services or communion.  This happened several weeks before Easter 2020. Now Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming.  Will I have to live through those holidays without family and friends?  We had a bit of hope last week, families were able to visit, but six feet apart and no touching, mask on and someone present so we would not be able to sneak in a hug.  Then staff tested positive, asymptomatic, but positive.  Back to the rules of no visits.  Everyone who gives my care in this place is masked and has to wear eye protection.  So many barriers.  Honestly, why live?  The community that gave me life and a reason to live cannot even come near me. What is most important to me has been taken away...family.  I see in other residents besides myself: a very deep depression, hopelessness, anxiety.  I hear other residences say, “I miss my wife; I am old, I don’t have much time left; I can’t hold my grandchild or great-grandchildren; It doesn’t matter if I get Corona or not, I am going to die without seeing/holding/hugging my family; All I want is my hair cut; I cannot hear through a window!; All I want to do is go out with my son for ice cream;  I have completely lost my summer;  I am bored; I have to be in hospice to have family hold me again...” 


Where is Jesus?  That is where I want to begin with my story as a Chaplain.  I understand that the lockdown in nursing homes saves lives.  This virus, as we know when it gets into a nursing home it spreads like wildfire.  When I was a little girl growing up on a dairy farm in the Adirondack’s of New York, a neighbor,  by the name of Ann came and picked me up for church.  I was unchurched.  She had a little girl my age at the time (5-years-old), my best friend during those years.  My memories of my little church fill me with joy.  Ann and her faithfulness to bring me to church when she and her husband had a bunch of kids was such a blessing to me.  Ann in her 90’s died in a nursing home where the virus got in and spread.  Her family could only stand outside the window shouting I LOVE YOU MOM.  She loved Jesus and I know I will see her one day again! That brings me hope and comfort.

As a chaplain, I see the human plaques of HOPELESSNESS, LONELINESS, and BOREDOM invading the humane spirit.  Because of the laws passed down to us from the government, we are limited as to what we can do as humans.  BUT that does not limit God.  God is never limited.  When you think God has abandoned you read and memorize Zephaniah 3:17.

“ For the LORD your GOD is Living among you, He is a mighty Savior, He will take delight in you with gladness.  With His love, he will calm all your fears.  He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

For such a time as this the Lord Jesus has called His believers to lead and be His Voice.  Jesus is with us and working through us as believers.  In these months, my Chaplain responsibilities can be defined by three words:  PRAYER/LISTENING/VISITATION.  I do prayer walks around my Nursing home in Pennsylvania several times during my work week.  The Lord Jesus has given me many opportunities to not only share the love of Jesus with the Elders but also with their families and my co-workers. 

I would like to conclude with this thought: Every day at work I need to put on 2 types of PPE.  One set is my mask, goggles, and a gown(at times). The other PPE is found in Ephesians 6:

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the

time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.

The “chains of Coronavirus, does not stop the message of Jesus.  Where is Jesus?  He is right here, in you and in me.  He is Immanuel! God with us!

Experiencing Divine Compassion - A Response

By: Tim Kratzer, M.D.

A response to The Gifts of Healing by Pastor Colleen Dick from our December 2019 newsletter.

Pastor Colleen Dick’s sermon got me to thinking. What has divine compassion looked like in my own life and how can I experience and offer that compassion, me with my limited resources and weak faith? So again, what does this divine compassion look like? When I see the hungry I offer food. When I see the thirsty I give water. When I visit the sick I offer hope for a cure. When I encounter the stranger I invite him in. When I see the naked I give covering. What is my resource for these ministries of compassion? How can I offer hope when I see no hope?

My resources are never sufficient, but I am blessed. Peter and John at the temple had no money to offer the cripple, but they offered what they had. They had faith that in the name of Jesus he could rise up and walk. What is the motivation? In the name of Jesus…does the world know about Jesus? Sadly the majority of God’s created ones go on as if they will live forever. Those who are well supplied live as if they can take care of themselves, even to the point of not caring about their eternal souls. They are occupied with collecting riches here on earth, not thinking about their life beyond. Those who are impoverished or embattled are so beaten down that they see no hope. But I have encountered the Divine and know that there is life beyond, that there is hope. I am changed as divine compassion, the very Spirit of God, changes me and flows from me?

Divine compassion has stepped into my life and gives me power over sin and death. I say, “Yes”, to God, and the Spirit of God changes me in ways I could not imagine. What did the Holy Spirit do in the life of the early church? Those who were taught that they had to fulfill the law, were freed from the condemnation they had experienced under the law. Those who were serving the gods of their own creation, found the God who had created them and their world. Slaves were set free. The sick were healed. Sight was given to the blind. Hope was given to a world that was ruled by earthly, self- serving powers.

What is the Holy Spirit empowering me to do in today’s world? How can I experience divine compassion? I recall the question I began with, how can I experience and offer divine compassion, me with my limited resources and weak faith? I have eyes to see, keep them open. I have ears to hear, listen to the world around. I have a heart created to experience the Divine, feel with those who are seeking for meaning in the confusion of this broken world. Consider the many ways in which I have been blessed, share those blessings with others. Give witness to God’s transforming presence in my life, and thereby share that power which makes miracles possible. Divine compassion is Spirit directed, knowing no limits. Divine compassion is transforming, enabling me to live knowing that what I see now is but the beginning of life everlasting. Divine compassion gives me hope, even as I experience the weakness of my flesh. It suffers with those in need, but not without hope.

What is my hope?

“So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.” (I Cor 15:21-22)

What a blessing to know that in the journey we call life I have experienced divine compassion, and in experiencing divine compassion I have been introduced to the author of eternal life. As I am infilled and empowered by the very presence of God, the Holy Spirit, I am indeed experiencing and offering divine compassion. I belong to God and his power is present in all that I am and all that I do.

I am drawn back to Paul’s words of instruction in I Cor 15:3-4.

“I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day.”

Then Paul goes on to give his testimony of God at work in his life.

“But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me-and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.” (I Cor 15:10)

So I come back to Pastor Dick’s sermon on the “Gifts of Healing” and the question, “Divine compassion. Have you ever experienced divine compassion? Divine meaning ‘of or belonging to God’ or ‘proceeding from God.’ ” I would suggest that the compassion that arises from within me is of the Holy Spirit and gives witness to the power of God which has power over sin and death. What a blessing is mine to live in that spirit-filled reality. Thank you Pastor Dick for reminding me that God is at work demonstrating divine compassion in today’s world.

Lamenting and Rejoicing at the Same Time

Many of us receive Word and Deed e-mails from the medical group in Burundi. Eric McLaughlin, who spoke at our retreat in 2018 (see our Dec 2018 newsletter), wrote a recent post which I felt was very appropriate for this time in our nation. He has granted permission to reprint it here.

In addition, the book which he talked about publishing is now available at Amazon: Promises in the Dark: Walking with Those in Need Without Losing Heart

Those of us who attended the 2018 retreat will want to read more about the subject and those who were not able to attend should even more order it. This short piece from Word and Deed is a sample of the wisdom and vision God has given him. As we pray for our own country in this epidemic, pray also for Burundi, and the rest of Africa. This virus could be even more devastating there.


By: Eric McLaughlin, M.D.
Original Post

We are living in a time of loss.  And so are you, fellow inhabitant of planet Earth.  This season is not what anyone predicted.  We cannot go where we thought we could go.  We cannot do what we thought we were doing.  We cannot be with those whom we thought to spend time.  We do not know when things will change, which makes any significant planning nearly impossible.  Early February has this amazing nostalgia.  The glory of that ordinary life - we knew it not.  May we know it better when it returns.

Watching people all over the world grapple with this time of loss has shown me two seemingly contradictory responses:

First, there is an increased call for the importance of lament.  Articles such as NT Wright’s and different books (including my own) have been sources of resonance for a lot of people.  Lament is indeed a gift to us in times like our own.  We don’t have answers, and we don’t know yet when answers will be forthcoming.  Our normal means of decision-making and anxiety-mitigation have been stripped from us by the utterly unprecedented nature of the global COVID- 19 pandemic.  We don’t know what to do.

Here, lament gives us the words and even the emotional stance that we need.  We cry out to God.  We pour out our complaint.  We ask “How long?” as more than a rhetorical question.  We don’t understand, but can at least know to whom our complaint is rightly addressed.  We do better to take the ugliest thought to God than the most cleaned-up thought anywhere else.  “We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”  (2 Chronicles 20:12)

The second response is one of celebration and beauty.  As our normal life becomes restricted, and in many places slows down, there is a need to find some form of celebration.  People write notes to each other.  You may have seen more longtime friends on Zoom in the past couple of weeks than you have in years.  Yesterday, my wife walked through our house loudly singing Les Miserables tunes (“One day more!”) and the kids joined in.  The joy and the beauty are a defiance of the fear and the darkness, and this is as it should be.

I have loved watching the art and the music that Covid sequestration has already birthed.  My med school classmates are posting brilliant dual-piano pieces that they are playing together despite being a time zone apart.  Our team intern’s watercolors of a beautiful JRR Tolkien quote are circulating on social media.  I can’t remember when the beauty of American spring was so celebrated in photos.  The human creative spirit inside all of us, which is part of humanity’s role as image bearers of a creative God, has hardly ever been so evident.  We need this.

So we find that we need to lament this loss.  And we find that we need to fill the void of this loss with a celebration of beauty.  And it feels impossible to do both of these together.  Give me one or the other, and some kind of path is laid before me.  But both?  I can feel my feet sticking to the ground.

God's Eternal Plan

By: Tim Kratzer, M.D.

We live so much of our lives as those driven by circumstances and victims of misfortune. We have entered into that reality as we find ourselves dealing with this COVID-19 pandemic. We’re confined to our homes. Friends and loved ones have been hospitalized, and some have lost the battle with this unseen enemy. Our economy has been turned upside down. Jobs have been lost. Accumulated wealth is disappearing.

Early on during this period of social isolation, Connie and I were reading from John 2:13-22 where the cleansing of the temple is described. In other Gospels, this event is placed just before the week of the Passion of Christ. Here we see Jesus beginning his ministry as he sets matters straight with the spiritual leaders by cleansing the temple. So also Jesus steps into our lives, setting our priorities right.

Jesus came, the Word become flesh. Now he steps into the temple, to give witness to God’s eternal plan. The Jewish center for worship, prayer, instruction, and sacrifice had become a place of commerce. The sacred had been reduced to the secular. What did Jesus see? Money changers and the selling of livestock were crowding out those who had come to be in the presence of God.

What did Jesus do?

“Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased (the merchants) out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and the cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, ‘Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace! ‘”
(John 2:15-16)

So what was God’s plan? The Jewish leaders questioned Jesus. “What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.” (John 2:18) Jesus replied by saying that if this temple were destroyed, he would raise it up in three days. The Pharisees did not understand as many people do not understand today, even our so-called spiritual leaders. He was speaking of his sacrificial death, resurrection, and eternal purpose.

But there was one Pharisee named Nicodemus who was beginning to understand. “’Rabbi,’ he said, ‘we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.’” (John 3:2) John in his Gospel reports that many began to believe and trust. (John 2:23) They were being introduced to a God of love. “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

In this time of suffering and uncertainly, we put our faith in God who promises us eternal life. We die to self and are born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. What a blessing to be reminded of our eternal hope.