Good morning, friends.

Thank you to everyone who has checked in on us. I hope you and your family are doing well as we face this pandemic together. Emily and I are healthy and staying at home in Cleveland. While our spring speaking schedule has been canceled, I do have a few video and zoom talks upcoming.

Like many of you, we’re cleaning the house, organizing our stuff, taking long walks, cooking, reading, listening to music, enjoying movies, doing puzzles, playing games, face-timing with family and friends, and of course, endlessly watching the news.

I’ve also been working on a photography exhibit that is scheduled to open September 10 at Foothill Galleries in Cleveland Heights. It will be a retrospective of my work over the past twenty years, with a focus on my abstracts. It’s a featured solo exhibit for the Cleveland Photo Fest. I’ll let you know more details as the date approaches.

COVID-19 Week One: A rainy day look in the mirror — COVID-19 Week One:
A rainy day look in the mirror

Like lots of retired folks, I’ve been asking what I can do to help during this COVID-19 crisis. Aside from staying out of harm’s way so I don’t get sick or pass the virus on to someone else, there must be more for a senior citizen with cognitive challenges (and the proclivity for bronchitis and pneumonia) to do. Here’s what I have come up with, so far:

Pray for those who are sick and for those serving on the frontlines of healthcare
Support friends and neighbors who have been laid-off
Check on those who are working from home, teaching/entertaining their own children, caring for their elders and managing complicated households
Remember those who have no homes, incomes, jobs, healthcare, or even food and water (don’t forget your local shelter or food pantry)
Send flowers or a gift certificate to someone in need of encouragement
Do some zoom/video homilies, reflections, and talks
Make a financial donation to a local relief fund, such as The Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund
Buy lunch for the staff of a community-based nonprofit organization
Pre-pay for future haircuts and massages
Support local restaurants by purchasing gift certificates, ordering carryout, and be extra generous when tipping, through Cleveland Virtual Tip Jar
Offer special thanks to delivery men and women, and remember to ask after their family and friends
Greet everyone I meet on my neighborhood walk, and inquire about their well being
Make phone calls, send cards, and email those who might be frightened or isolated
Write long letters to old friends
Give thanks for musicians around the world who are sharing their music on the internet
Figure out a way to play music with others through the internet
Plan how we will share our federal relief check
Honor this mandated stay-at-home as Sabbath, a time for healing
Think about what good will come of this crisis
Make plans to do good when it’s safe to come out of the house
Make photographs to record this moment in time and share them with others

So that’s my list as of today. To those of you who are also staying at home, what’s on your list?

Finally, the words I used to stay my congregations at the end of every worship service, adapted from a benediction I learned from The Rev Douglas Fromm, come to mind a lot recently, and I hope you will carry them with you into whatever lies ahead:

Be at peace and know that
in God, life is understood and ultimately makes sense.
Your life is accepted as it is with all of its hope,
all of its promise and all of its challenge.
You have courage to face whatever you have to face
today, tomorrow and then some.
And may the blessing of God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of life,
be with you and remain with you always.

COVID-19 collection of photo reflections and any upcoming “virtual events” will be shared via my e-mail newsletter, as well as Facebook and Instagram (@TraceyLind).

A printable version of this benediction, adapted from The Rev Douglas Fromm, is available here.