2021 03 16
作者 Article By Billy Ng
去年昨日2020 年3 月15 日，多倫多教區宣布從當日起，暫停所有實體崇拜，相信當時大部分的人，都沒有估計到疫情是那麼長久、那麼嚴重。隨著政府開始疫苗注射計劃，大家都盼望著生活能早日回復正常，可是，同時間政府也為第三波疾情作準備，有時候都不知如何是好？ 這景況令我想起聖經裏的一個故事。
昔日摩西帶領以色列人逃離埃及，預備進入應許地，在曠野裏流浪40 年，到摩西死後，這重任交予約書亞，人民都不知何時才能進入應許地，同時，周圍的敵人不斷的攻擊他們，耶和華對約書亞說：「不要懼怕，也不要驚惶，因為你無論往哪裏去，耶和華你的神必與你同在。」 (約書亞記 1:9 下)
雖然我們不知道何時能重回教堂，一起崇拜、推動教會事工；但是在現階段，我們可以計劃未來，作好準備。畢竟人們的生活及需要，不會因為疫情而完全停頓下來，相信無論我們在任何境況下，上帝必與我們同在。
還記得去年一月尾，我在講道分享時，我們「蒙福呼召」，有時候我們需要離開自己現在的舒適圈，“ Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” 其實不一定要等到疫情過後，才去處理及推動，關懷社區 、建立愛的群體的工作。正因如此，我們粵語事工於4 月10 日星期六上午，將推出網上退修會「復興與更新」，希望在這等候及預備的期間，我們一起探討，教會日後的事工發展方向。
盼望大家抽空，一同參予這次為頌主堂，設立的首次網上退修會，透過兩位重量級的講員，李思敬牧師及余天錫主教，能啟發我們一起思考、探索教會未來的方向。我們相信，我們既然蒙福呼召，經歷這次疫情，上帝也會對我們作出同樣的承諾，「不要懼怕，也不要驚惶，因為你無論往哪裏去，耶和華你的神必與你同在。」 (約書亞記 1:9 下)
A year ago yesterday, on March 15, 2020, the Diocese of Toronto announced that it would suspend all in-person worship at churches for the foreseeable future. I believed that most of us at that time did not expect the pandemic to be so long and severe. As the government starts the vaccination program, everyone hopes that life will soon return to normal. However, at the same time, the government is also preparing for the third wave of the virus. Sometimes we do not know what to do. The current situation we are facing now reminds me of a Bible story.
In this story, Moses led the Israelites to flee Egypt in order to enter the Promised Land. They wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. After Moses died, this responsibility was given to Joshua. People did not know when they would be able to enter the Promised Land. At the same time, the surrounding enemies kept attacking them. The Lord said to Joshua: "Do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9b)
Although we do not know when we can return to church to worship and to take part in ministry together, we can plan and prepare for the future during this time. After all, our daily lives and needs will not be completely stopped because of the pandemic. I believe that God will be with us no matter what circumstances we are in.
I remember that in my sermon at the end of January last year, I reminded everyone how we were "blessed to be called". Sometimes we need to leave our comfort zone. As the saying goes, “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”. You do not have to wait until the pandemic is over and only then to care for the needy and build a loving community. For this reason, our Cantonese Ministry is launching an online retreat themed "Revive, Restore and Renewal" on the morning of Saturday, April 10th, conducted in Cantonese. We hope that during this waiting season, we can discuss and explore the vision of the church's ministry.
I hope that everyone will take time to participate in our first online retreat. Our two keynote speakers, Rev. Stephen Lee and Bishop Patrick Yu, will inspire us to think and explore the future direction of the church. . We believe that since we have been blessed to be called and are experiencing this pandemic, God will make the same promise to us today, "Do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)