The loneliness of being homeless in Salem is accentuated by Gov. Kate Brown’s “stay home” order, which has emptied the city of many people. Salem faith leaders are discussing how to address local inequality. (Diane Beals/Salem Reporter)
A small group of Salem faith leaders is searching for answers to challenging questions around the global pandemic, hoping to provide more comfort to their communities.
COVID-19 prompts plenty of questions.
Why are some communities hit harder than others? What do vulnerable people need to encourage them to stay safe at home? When will it be safe to join in one room for prayer?
The idea for monthly gatherings of faith leaders came to Rabbi Eli Herb of Temple Beth Sholom as he listened to rabbinical conversations across North America.
“Before we were dealing with closures and stay-at-home orders and all that, synagogues across the country were starting to close their doors. I was watching this pattern,” he said.
He questioned those closures, and his colleagues told him closures were headed to Oregon too. That’s how communities deal with the virus to save as many lives as possible. He should plan ahead, he was told.
Herb reached out to Rev. Karen Wood, Willamette University chaplain, with an idea. Wood already organized a monthly interfaith meeting on the campus. Herb suggested a focused COVID-19 conversation.
“As faith community leaders, I thought there was a big potential for us to come together and show some unity and commitment to this long-term struggle that we’re going through to save as many lives as we can,” he said.
Others agreed.
“It seemed like a natural fit to stay connected and to continue to share our hearts on how to best serve the folks we care for and the city as a whole. To me, it wasn’t adding on. It was continuing on with the relationship I’ve already built,” said Rev. Rob Thrasher, minister of discipleship and mission for Salem First Presbyterian Church.
The first meeting was in early March, before government orders mandated church closures. The team covered the basics. How does Zoom work? Do other tech solutions seem more effective? What prayers are resonating with your community?
“And then we started daydreaming about what to do with all of this,” Herb said. “How can we, as faith leaders, show that commitment to saving as many lives as we can in Marion and Polk counties?”
The group has come together about three times so far, and the last few meetings happened via Zoom. The conversation is relatively new, and the group hasn’t had time to create the concrete, far-reaching plans the leaders envision.
“These first couple of Zoom meetings have been about creating a dialogue. You have to learn how to connect with people if you’re not together. It takes a little bit longer,” said Pamela Volk, member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Salem Baha’i Community.
But coming together to share strategies and insights is valuable, she said.
“It is very special to be part of a group of faith leaders who find common ground for sharing and planning, to serve the wider community beyond their individual places of worship,” Volk said.
Sometimes, a strategy that works well in one religious community translates into a solution another leader can implement.
For example, Herb heard about a community that distributed a member call list to volunteers. Vulnerable members got a call soliciting requests. Did people need help with groceries? Would a call from the clergy help?
Herb took this idea to his community and implemented it.
In return, he told the other leaders about an interest-free loan program developed for his community. Members donate to a fund, and people in need can apply for the money they need to cover food, groceries, rent, or other meaningful bills.
The group has created tools for faith communities during this unusual time. The resource bank includes basic information on using Zoom and Google Chat. Clergy can also access practical documents, including a series of instructions that helps clergy assist their members with basic tasks, including filling out unemployment paperwork.
Sharing solutions can help communities of faith stay strong during a challenging time, he said. The sharing may inspire others too.
“I think it’s important, especially in this time of intense division and polarization, for people to see clergy from diverse faith traditions working together to do what everybody knows religious leaders should be doing: helping people, and caring for the vulnerable in our community,” said Andy McQuery, associate rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
Tips and tools help this group to lead and grow. But the leaders feel they have more to do. The latest meetings have focused on injustice and inequality highlighted by COVID-19.
“There are people who have lost jobs and are dealing with a great deal of uncertainty about the future, and then there are people like me that are, in many ways, unaffected by this big thing thus far. We’re asking questions about what this says about our society,” Herb said. “What does it mean that some people have to go through something like this with incredibly different relationships to the pandemic?”
Thrasher uses boats and storms to explain this concept.
“We often hear that phrase, ‘We’re all in the same boat.’ But the reality is that we’re not. We each have our own boat in this storm,” Thrasher said. “Those of us that have bigger boats: How are we being mindful of those that don’t and that are sinking and drowning?”
“We’ve seen that communities of color and people on the lower end of the income spectrum are facing this in very different ways. Some are more vulnerable to contracting the illness and are seriously affected by it,” Herb said. “But also, their jobs are shut down, and they are living with a new level of uncertainty that is very dangerous.”
“As this hopefully comes down the other side of the curve and we get out of the state that we’re currently in, we can’t forget what we’ve witnessed in terms of inequality and injustice,” Herb said.
“At our last meeting, we shared the commitment to hold tight to the lessons learned from this crisis to guide us to make wiser choices in the days to come,” Volk said.
Adjusting for the future is a key for the group.
“This pandemic is opening us up to see a lot of human need that maybe we weren’t paying attention to before, despite lots of people advocating for it,” Thrasher said. “If we come to the other side of this just getting back to the same or the status quo, then we have learned nothing, and we have not become a better people.”
The team is also discussing virtual events that connect people from many faiths, backgrounds, and economic realities. A speaker would kick off the event, and then breakout groups would connect people to discuss those concepts.
Larger projects that help faith communities identify and address issues of inequality in a meaningful way are also in the works.
In the interim, the team keeps meeting, talking, and supporting one another.
“Collaborating together gives us a sense of connection and a recognition that we are joined in many ways rather than divided. We all hope for healing, and we all pray that we can be part of the plan for restoration together,” said Rev. Timothy Mockaitis of Queen of Peace Catholic Church.
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