The Rev. Fr. James Brzezinski, Rector at the Morrison, IL, Church of St. Anne, Episcopal, explained the cancellation of an annual dinner. “We apologize, but out of concern for the community, we are cancelling our St. Patrick’s Day Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner, which was scheduled for Saturday, March 14, 2020. We have donated and delivered the hundred pounds of corned beef to the Morrison [Friends] Food Pantry.
“A friend of mine, Angie Schlossberg, discovered this C. S. Lewis quote when she was reading Psalm 27 this morning[, Thursday, March 12,] (out of my new C. S. Lewis Bible that she got for her birthday.) She thought it apropos for thinking about how we should live in the age of the COVID-19. The quote is taken from ‘On Living in an Atomic Age’.”
Lewis wrote “…the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things–praying; working; teaching; reading; listening to music; bathing the children; playing tennis; chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts–not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that), but they need not dominate our minds.”
Rev. Father James concluded, “So have no fear, friends, but please do use appropriate hygiene and reasonable caution. Let’s go enjoy a pint!”
He also offered a passage from the Bible and a prayer for our Country’s citizens.
- “Our help is in the name of the Lord, the creator of heaven and earth. Fear not, for the Lord your God is with you.”
- Heavenly Father, giver of life and health, comfort and relieve those infected by the coronavirus around the world and those who care for them, for health specialists and authorities who are combating the spread of infection, and for all who are at this time feeling anxious. Give your power of healing to those who minister to their needs, that they may be strengthened in their weakness and have confidence in your loving care, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.