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Lockdown
Yes there is fear. Yes there is isolation. Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness. Yes there is even death. But,
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
across the empty squares,
keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone
may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know
is busy spreading fliers with her number
Through the neighborhood
So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples
are preparing to welcome
and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting
All over the world people are looking at their
neighbors
in a new way
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To Love.
So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying.
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul
Yes there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
The birds are singing again
The sky is clearing,
Spring is coming,
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able
to touch across the empty square,
Sing.
Written by an Irish monk
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We have already implemented some precautions by cancelling potluck, for the foreseeable future and, we will be doing things slightly differently, once services resume.
Thanks to every single person who is helping to help others in developing countries all over the world.
Through our work with funds2orgs.com, your shoes will help many people around the world, in developing countries AND help God's Acre raise some much needed funds, at the same time.
The first line tells us that 
What love God had for us, to give us Jesus to suffer for our sins; Jesus set us FREE - there is that word again: FREEDOM. We are washed clean by the blood of Christ. Again and again, we are reconciled with God through Jesus' actions. 
As I said earlier, when we stumble and fall, we learn the most. When we are in the valley, we learn the best lessons. Don't be downhearted, but trust in the power of Jesus and the Grace of God. We don't deserve Grace yet we are given Grace; we receive Grace through our faith in Jesus. We walk with Jesus and we keep walking. We are justified through our faith; believing and trusting is the key that gives us peace. 
As we walk together towards Good Friday and the crucifixion, we can bring our fears, troubles and issues and lay them down at the foot of the cross, both physically and metaphorically. This is a cathartic thing to do. 
![Grace and Peace [Sovereign Grace Music]](https://web-extract.constantcontact.com/v1/thumbnail?url=https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JtaqWblzERE/maxresdefault.jpg)
