Faith&Friends
COMMON GROUND
Just a Bag of Popcorn? For many essential workers on the front lines of COVID-19, it was much more than that. by Lisa Hillier
It’s in the Bag Thirty-five bright orange gift packages were The Salvation Army’s way of bringing hope during the time of COVID-19
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W
hat are we going to do with all of that?” That was my initial response as my husband, Morgan, planted three large bags of treats— consisting of popcorn, chocolate, potato chips and candy—onto our church gym floor. We were about two weeks into the COVID-19 lockdown, and a local store had donated all this to The Salvation Army, and this was our church’s share. As I surveyed all the snacks, my
thoughts began to race. How could this be used in ministry? The struggle of reaching out to our congregation and community of Mount Pearl, N.L., had been real and challenging in those first weeks of COVID-19. As pastors, we had been cut off from the people we were there to serve—connecting was so challenging as people were hurting, anxious and fearful. My daily prayer was: How can we minister to them? How can we bring hope?
faithandfriends.ca I JANUARY 2021
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