One of the newest “Good Ideas!” in the diocese is “Covid Conversations” at St. Luke’s, East Greenwich.
The occasional conversations — likely to be once or twice a month — began in late May, prompted by a newsletter article written by Senior Warden Mike Grady, about the experience of being “alone together.”
“I thought that so beautifully captured what we are dealing with,” said the Rev. Tim Rich, rector. “So I wanted to create an experience that highlighted our togetherness. I also felt like there’s all this talk about the pandemic but little of it in the context of faith, so I wanted to create a container of sorts where we could have faith and God as the backdrop to our experiences.”
The first conversation was a big success, with 26 participants and a duration that lasted well beyond the scheduled 90 minutes.
“People shared both their struggles and their experiences of good fortune,” Rich noted. “At one point we went down an interesting road, talking about how this virus has forced us to change — and in some ways for the better.”
For churches considering similar programs, Rich said there were no real surprises in that initial conversation: “Just be prepared for peoples’ deep desires to share their stories.”