Chances are, not much has been said about SARS from the pulpits of some Canadian churches. Among Scarborough congregations, silence expresses fear or sympathy and comes as a hush after sermon references. Discretely precautions are introduced like pouring an extra measure of chlorine into the baptismal tank or replacing a common communion cup with individually wrapped wafer-wine portions.
While the media herald breakthroughs in the fight against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), they also recount death and quarantine figures. Reporters quote doctors telling people not to panic but can’t help people find or feel peace. Some people proceed with their daily routines-seemingly unconcerned and unaffected. Others rest in the certainty of God’s personal, eternal presence.
Yet, a small segment remains grid locked by unspoken or immediate fears. Their families are quarantined, staff hospital wards or are purchasing surgical masks on eBay to ward off the virus.
Fear travels a route as invisible as the virus. On a Scarborough bus I spotted a 20-something woman wearing a surgical mask-not ill or exposed but unwilling to ?take any chances.? She sat near the front of the bus, facing the door.
Canadians are afraid of the virus. An Ipsos-Reid poll conducted a few weeks ago found that 61 per cent of Canadians are concerned about contracting SARS. Nearly half of those people said they are ?very concerned.? The survey showed 14 per cent of respondents are avoiding large gatherings; 11 per cent cancelling travel plans and 9 per cent avoiding public transit. Several Chinese congregations located near Scarborough Grace Hospital-one site the media names as an ?epicentre? of Canada’s outbreak-reports ?a significant decline? in attendance leading up to Easter.
The SARS outbreak started in China and was carried to Toronto by Sui-chu Kwan, who was returning from Hong Kong. He died of the disease on March 5. Since then, the SARS crisis has been reported much like the war on terrorism-an unknown enemy, a faceless threat. Sadly, the end result is two-fold.
Some churches believe SARS is not worthy of discussion. Yet the issues it involves, like many current events, can allow Christians and churches to talk about their own fears. Fear of the risks involved in global missions. Fear that others will ridicule them because their witness is never perfect. Fear that God won’t be real to someone they talk to or that His comfort might not satisfy. Every Christian confronts these unspoken fears to keep his or her faith alive.
When Christians seek God to confront their own fears, and churches speak into situations of community crisis, they discover God’s ability to empower and direct them. News reports urge people to stay in quarantine. They also recounted how one SARS victim cried because angry children had pelted her home with rocks. Another was so weak she couldn’t turn over in bed, and wondered if she was about to die. A third drove herself, masked and alone, chilled by fever to an isolation room at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Christians and churches can’t physically touch SARS sufferers but God’s love can. The church can share that love by replacing the spirit of fear that’s spreading with the virus with God’s spirit of peace, comfort and hope.
Christians can encourage medical personnel or scientists and offer counselling, help children find peace and address the racism voiced toward the Asian community.
Churches might help business owners in their own ranks or regions who are genuinely hardest-hit by a downturn in business. They could use SARS to admit to the times when the Church as a whole has given way to fear-mongering over specific issues as if a heart concerned with ?godly? issues is more righteous than a heart ever-seeking God.
