Churches may be closed but not faith
The message from the P.E.I. provincial health officer was short and to the point, “beginning tomorrow every place of worship, school, hall or other meeting place throughout this province will be closed.”
Do those words sound familiar to what is going on around us? Indeed, they do. But there is one very important difference.
The message was issued on Oct. 21, 1918 – more than 100 years ago. At the end of the First World War, a worldwide pandemic of influenza (or the Spanish Flu as it was called) raged across the globe and turned people’s everyday lives upside down as public gatherings were restricted, businesses shut down and people were forced to stay at home. Here on P.E.I., it is believed the first case of Spanish Flu arrived on the Island via a person who had visited family in Boston.
With churches closed for weeks, The Guardian printed prayers and sermons from local clergy to encourage their people. One of the sermons included these words:
“It is indeed unfortunate that at the present time the doors of our churches are closed to public prayer – for after all what is more necessary at a time like this than the public prayers of the community to the Almighty? But what we cannot do in public we will do in private … Let us, therefore, beseech Almighty God to look down upon us and to grant us a speedy and complete deliverance trusting in His divine promise ‘Ask and you shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened to you’.”
That minister was very profound when he wrote: “what we cannot do in public we will do in private – to pray, and to trust in God’s promises”.
In 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 8, we learn about one of God’s promises. The Apostle Paul is writing to his young friend, Timothy, who is struggling. To encourage Timothy, Paul reminds his friend of one of God’s greatest promises – a promise for Timothy and a promise for each one of us: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but rather a spirit of power, love and of a sound mind.”
As we read the news and hear some of the latest reports on the virus, it’s easy to become afraid.
But we need to imitate the example of Islanders from 100 years ago when P.E.I. was shut down because of another pandemic. They prayed. They trusted in God. They cared for each other, acted wisely, leaned on the love and care of Almighty God, and they pressed on.
The pandemic eventually ended, and their everyday lives resumed.
They got through their time of crisis and we will get through this time, too. They discovered that the power of God was stronger than the grip of fear. They learned that “God had not given them a spirit of fear, but rather a spirit of power… that overcomes fear.” This is our opportunity to follow their example and do the same.
Remember, what we cannot do in public, we can do in private – continue to pray and tell God your worries and concerns and ask Him to help you. Read your Bible and be strengthened by God’s promises, including “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but rather a spirit of power, love and a sound mind”.
Major Rev. Tom Hamilton serves in team ministry with his wife, Rev. Paula Hamilton, in the congregations of St. Mark’s Presbyterian, Charlottetown, and St. Columba Presbyterian Church, Marshfield. He also serves as senior military chaplain of 36 Canadian Brigade Group (Nova Scotia and P.E.I.), padre to the Prince Edward Island Regiment and padre to Branch #1 Charlottetown, of the Royal Canadian Legion. A guest sermon runs regularly in Saturday’s Guardian and is provided through Christian Communications.