Epilogues
Moving Forward in the Pandemic
Maye Wong
Year 2020 is a special year, filled with challenges and uncertainties. In February, there was a big snowstorm, followed by an outbreak of the pandemic, which suddenly put all the Community Services activities to a complete halt. Despite gaining an extra day every week, I feel a sense of loss.
While staying at home, my mind is always on Community Services. Thoughts of how I can maintain member relationship and provide mutual support and care, so that members do not feel isolated. Fear and loneliness are always on my mind. Although we cannot meet face to face, we hope to be able to utilize our limited resources to provide positive, happy, relaxing, and physically and emotionally enhancing activities to our members. Zoom, a new technology, can be used by members to join in activities from different locations, thus maintaining a sense of belonging. With the agreement of instructors, we started Zoom learning to meet the needs of various classes.
God’s grace is sufficient to meet our needs. Our Church provided the software application and Internet specialists provided technical support, through which we started this learning curve. Now we have six exercise/interest classes and three ESL classes offered through Zoom.
With the situations during the pandemic changing all the time, we do not know whether we can go out. Through online learning, we can reduce the barriers between one another and expand our visions. We should not stop here. By continuing to rely on God’s grace, we can maintain good health and lead a positive and happy life.
Good News for All Peoples
Pastor Lionel Lam
We are grateful for the acceptance and love of our Community Service members who come from different faith backgrounds, and for the precious time we spent together in this "Love Garden". Dr. Milton Wai-yiu Wan once said there is good but also evil in a person. But it is most difficult to understand how a person can do some very touching acts of kindness, only to be found out later that this same person has also done some very ugly evil things.
The good news for all peoples during Christmas is that a virgin had conceived and given birth to a child from the Holy Spirit, named Jesus. He will save His peoples from their sins and will dwell with them. The character of a Christian is to confess and repent of any wrongdoings and always remember that they are saved by God’s great love. As Amy Sand wrote in her song "Live out Love": "There is a love that comes from heaven, higher than the mountains, deeper than the seas, unfathomable, nonphysical, but visible. Because of you, because of me, willingly we give all our heart to live out this Love.” This song reminds the believers that we will not bear the fruits of righteousness by just doing good deeds, we are willing to love and give, as a response to the love that comes from heaven.
The common thread that runs through all the articles in this newsletter is the wish for the pandemic to be over soon, so that we will be able to interact with each other physically just like we did before. Don't miss the most precious gift mentioned in Pastor Rosita Lee's article on the Treasure Box. Also, the story about how Wen Ping Jia and her daughter came to the ESL class by chance and discovered the treasures in the Bible. Then they did their utmost to seek and learn about this love from heaven. I wish you will learn more about the Bible during Christmas and will be given this love from heaven.
Postscript: The details of the birth of Jesus Christ are recorded in the books of Matthew and Luke, chapters 1 and 2 (Mt 1:18-25, 2:1-23; Lk 1:26-56, 2:1-20)