The Rev. Dondi

Impending doom, or celebrating of common purpose?

Image: Public Domain

09 April 2012

The COVID-19 crisis is the ultimate test of our calling to leadership as leaders. Sudden dramatic, life threatening upheaval, where all the aspects of our day to day lives remain uncertain. In this extraordinary stressful time, the value of our leadership calling is being demonstrated everyday.

Like the disciples depicted in this Rembrandt masterpiece, Christ in the Storm on Lake Galilee, those on the COVID-19 frontlines are today fighting towering waves. But just as the disciples can spot the “other side”, they do so because they have a strong sense of purpose. Theirs is a lesson in leadership for all.

It is Christ in the Storm on Lake Galilee by a Dutch painter Rembrant Van Rijn, I cannot imagine a better depiction of our current crisis. We are fighting rough waves at the moment. Everyday there are challenges. As a front line employee in healthcare it is an exhausting and an relenting battle.

That’s how I had originally understood the gospel, Christ and the disciples in the storm on Lake Galilee, the towering waves, the impending doom, the disciples caught in the chaos captured how I felt at those time of my read.

But that is not how I understand the gospel reading in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic. In my reflection, I have come to believe the gospel and what this picture is about. I have come to believe that the current crisis is revealing more than simply the nature of a virus.

By the shore of Lake Galilee the “Other Side” is within a distance sight, the destination for the troubled disciples. As Dr. Martin Luther King once said , “We are caught in an inescapable net work of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.” Like the disciples we are not fighting the waves in vain. They have a purpose …the other side and so are we.

In the recent months as a Spiritual care giver in Healthcare Institution, I have heard all the stories of profound braveries and commitment of Nurses, technicians, environmentalists, doctors and spiritual care givers. I am in awe at how they face their daily challenges with caring and selflessness. They support the medical team by providing essential services to keep the hospital clean, they care for patients, they are referred to as essential workers during this pandemic. Why do they do it?

When I listen closely to their stories and what drives them, I hear the same chorus. They feel a responsibility to care for others. they know their work is a crucial piece of a larger effort to save lives, comfort the suffering and help the vulnerable. They feel a deep purpose.

Like the “Other Side” o f Lake Galilee before them, they are offering a masterpiece in leadership. I am learning from them, how much purpose in our work matters and this is our calling…leadership with a purpose.

But there are storms gathering on the horizon. There always will be, as leaders, we must try to listen to our leadership team members to understand how to manage tomorrows’ waves. If we keenly listen we may hear: In order to summon the strength to fight the waves, leaders have to know there is a destination…”the other side” It cannot be wave after wave. There has to be a purpose. As leaders sometimes we think it is our job to define our leadership team’s purpose. Sometime that may be true. But COVID-19 era has convinced me that sometimes we need to have the humility to accept that our leadership teams may also see the destination before we do. What is important is not who saw it first, but how we can articulate it and embrace it – and how we can support each other in realizing it.

I will never look at the Christ in the Storm in Lake Galilee without thinking about we as leaders during this pandemic. In it I will see their courage and spirit. I will remember how they muscle every single circumstance because they knew what might be on the other side of lake Galilee.

“Those who live south of our border and who seek a better life in ‘the beautiful north’, those who patrol that same border, and those detained at the border are not stock players in a political drama. They aren’t one-dimensional characters in a newsreel, and while stereotyping and typecasting them may make it more comfortable or manageable for us to deal with the ‘problem’ as a whole, it distances us from their humanity, and consequently, I would argue, from our own.” – The Rev. Luis Rodriguez

The collection of artwork comes from the Tornillo Children’s Detention Camp where close to 3,000 unaccompanied minors from Central and South America were held. Art was a way to express their faith, the love of their family and friends, and pride in their homeland.

To learn more about the artwork, read this article from the New York Times

Participation and Prayers

Key Dates:

There is no cost for this event. There will be an opportunity for further study if you desire to learn more about ordination.

For more information, please contact Rev. Angela Lerena, Diocesan Administrator: [email protected].

St. James Sunday School launches digitally on Sunday, September 13th. During the digital church period, St. James Sunday School is open to all school-aged children in the Diocese. Registration is required to participate! The kick-off session will begin with student check-in at 9:00AM and the lesson will begin at 9:15AM. The first day of Sunday School is designed for the whole family to join-in. The morning will include the blessing of the teachers and the students. We invite you to check out the St. James Children’s Ministry web page for more about our ministry with children and our curriculum Weaving God’s Promises.

1. Gathering and Greeting
2. Sunday School Prayer
3. Sunday School Song
4. About the Scripture Story
5. Telling the Story
6. Activity Related to the Story
7. Weaving Our Faith: Conversation about the story
8. Closing Prayer

• Worship on Sundays and be an active member of the St. James community or other church in the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin.
• Be prepared: Read the curriculum and plan my lessons.
• Grow in my faith and understanding of my work through educational opportunities as offered.
• Practice inclusive hospitality as Jesus teaches us the love of God is the love of neighbor.