A Church Alive in Worship and Service
Recent times have been very difficult for all of humanity. For a year and a half, we have suffered a pandemic that even today is keeping us apart. We cannot hug each other or pass the Peace as we did before. During this time, we have seen people who have suffered Covid19. Some overcame the illness and, sadly, others left this world because of it. Many people were affected emotionally due to the fear of the contagion, the isolation endured while being locked down at their homes for such a long time, or the uncertainties experienced. This emotional state sent many people to seek psychological help. In our nation, many people lost their jobs and other informal sources of income. Schools closed for a long time, and boys and girls and high school students had to remain in their homes. Authorities are still taking sanitary measures so that this terrible illness doesn’t continue to spread.
In addition to these happenings, there have been others that have greatly saddened us, such as the earthquake in the south of Haiti. The saddest part of this calamity in Haiti is the feeling of impotence we have by not being able to help as much as we would like due to the unstable situation at our neighboring nation. It has been very unfortunate for all of us. We pray for the Haitian people so that they can find a solution to the grave problems they face.
Despite everything that has happened, we have not lost hope. Our church has been present to face the consequences brought by the Covid19 pandemic, helping and offering spiritual, emotional and material support to all its members and in a general sense to all the nation. An aspect to highlight is the church’s use of virtual platforms. Through them the church brought hope and provided encouragement and guidance to all citizens, doing Bible study programs and holding retreats, services of praise, and meetings of spiritual enrichment.
In the social area, we have provided food to the needy and medicines to several families, and have accompanied people who are ill and their families. Therefore, our church responded in all these situations with love and hope, always trusting in the power of God. During most of this time, pastoral visits continued and some of the churches visited held confirmations. Up to this day we maintain the same program of pastoral visits and meetings with various boards in each of the missions visited. All this for the glory of God.
Now we give thanks to God because we are gradually returning to normalcy, although we should continue to follow sanitary regulations. Thank God our students are attending our schools, our churches have started to have activities in person, and we have started to receive visiting mission teams. The economy in our country is improving significantly.
Most of the Dominican population is vaccinated with two or three doses, and this is a great step.
I thank God to be part of a church that continually worships and lives each day with hope. The hope that despite many hurdles we can serve our communities offering testimony of what God can do in our lives. The hope that together as one people we can work to overcome this and other difficulties. The hope that science will continue to advance to bring healing and peace to the world. God is working to carry on His purpose of bringing everything to perfection. We must worship Him always.
Many blessings to everyone.
The Rt. Rev. Moisés Quezada Mota
Bishop Diocesan
November 3, 2021