Submitted by Brad Inglis
….is anyone getting a little cranky? Feeling the cabin fever – tired of looking at your significant other? Well guess what, we aren’t out of the woods yet but now’s the time to be thinking about how you want to re-enter the world. What is it going to look like for you and how will you manage your safety, anxiety and at the same time re-gain some of your independence?
There is lots of material that will be available to help direct us but it is going to take confidence and small steps to figure out how this will all work. We have been at those “in between times”, frightening times, uncertain times but now is going to be a time of transition as we implement new practises into our life. The exciting thing is that we have lots of time to figure out what will work best for us. Gather your facts, assess your level of risk, talk with your friends and follow your plan. And if all else fails, get down to Peninsula Out of Doors and wander through the green houses and pick up your plants for the season. There is nothing more beautiful than all of the scents, colour and varieties of green that await you.
On-Line Church Services Offered
In church-land we are adapting too, to new ways of being the church. Pastor Mike from Light and Life Chapel https://www.lightandlifecommunitychapel.ca, Pastor Perry from St. Edmunds Anglican Church http://www.laamb.ca/index.htm, and Father Kuzma from the Catholic Church https://www.stmarysandthemissions.ca, and ourselves are all doing online services to help keep people connected.
What a great opportunity to visit a new church, get a feel for their style of service, fall asleep if you want and never get out of your pyjamas! Or watch it any time you like. Some of the churches also do midweek reflections with special guests sharing their thoughts. There are online bible studies and coffee times and an opportunity to explore your faith at a pace you are comfortable with.
I have listed their main web sites and ours is at the bottom and I encourage you to see what everyone is doing and has to offer. I can’t help but feel that in some ways, we have never been more accessible. Everyone is on an even playing field, there is no anxiety about showing up the first time or being worried that someone sees you not following the service. You get this little window of opportunity to see how relevant church can be, in 2020.
Shop Local
The clear message in the media these days is shop local wherever possible. I see that the Blue Heron and Reader’s Haven are both going online with virtual shopping opportunities. Aunt Donkey’s in Lion’s Head is doing the same and Peninsula Pet Supplies will even deliver in Tobermory on Thursdays. My apologies to others on the peninsula that I’ve missed who are opening their doors virtually online. But please take the time to check it out before you go to Amazon or the other big boys. See what is available right here on the Peninsula and do your shopping at home if you can.
Many thanks to all of the folks who sponsored me for the virtual Hike for Hospice this year. Your support is both humbling and amazing and very much appreciated by Bruce Peninsula Hospice. If you haven’t made a donation yet and would like to, the event still goes until May 30th and you can go right online and sponsor me there http://www.bphospice.ca – I might even do an extra lap around the garden for you?
Brad Inglis is the minister at Tobermory United Church. He can be reached at binglis2@me.com or 519-596-2821 (Home)
www.tobermoryunited.ca
