Our cultural values are making us sad: money, mortality, and fear of missing out.

In a video chat last night, a friend admitted, “I’ve been crying a lot, and I’m not sure why.” COVID-19 has given us many reasons to weep. We’re out of our routines, the stock market has plunged, and we imagine millions dying. This virus and economic crisis punch us squarely where our spiritual armor is weakest: mortality, money, and our fear of missing out.

In 2 Corinthians 7, Paul distinguishes between two kinds of sorrow—a sorrow that “leads to death,” and a “godly sorrow.” The latter “brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret” (v. 10). Godly sorrow, he writes, produces “earnestness,” eagerness to repent, and a “longing” and “readiness to see justice done” (v. 11). The question the church faces now is which kind of sorrow COVID-19 will bring.

We are in the midst of the most widespread societal upheaval that many people alive today have ever experienced. Already our institutions, habits, relationships, and culture are shifting before our eyes. Frank M. Snowden, author of Epidemics and Society, shared with the New Yorker, “Epidemics are a category of disease that seem to hold up the mirror to human beings as to who we really are.” The question we are facing is not whether we will experience sorrow and change; the question is how. As biblical prophets walked with people through catastrophes, their advice was never to just endure until it ends. Instead they focused on proactively changing relationships with each other and with God.

As a cultural anthropologist who grew up in a middle-class white United States home and then lived for much of my adult life in Nicaragua, China, and South Africa, ...

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Even as technology made communication quicker, these Coptic leaders ministered through snail mail.

In his rural New Jersey home, Wafik Habib carefully laid out his letter collection before us, now more than a half century old. Handwritten by the late Bishop Samuel to the physician, they represented the bishop’s pastoral care to a nascent diaspora Christian community started in 1950s North America. We could sense the bishop’s presence in the words of comfort and exhortation set to pen and paper.

A few years before our visit to Habib to read his letters from Bishop Samuel, we opened up our own airmail from Egypt. It was a greeting card from Abadir El-Souriany, an elderly monk at the Syrian Monastery of St. Mary. (In the Coptic tradition, bishops are denoted by a single name at ordination and monks are referred to by their first name and the monastery where they serve.)

The card smelled of the Egyptian desert. In it, we found words of blessing.

Abadir had pastored our family in Sudan decades before. Now, newly ordained and assigned to a Coptic Orthodox Church in New Jersey, we received the warm words of Abadir’s letter. They ministered to us as only words from a lifelong pastor to diaspora congregations could.

Of course, sending letters from a distance to churches the Coptic church leaders planted or communities they served follows an apostolic tradition that dates back to the New Testament. Though these letters were addressed to individuals, rather than entire congregations, they achieved the same end: the spread of Christianity, the planting of new churches in new places, and the spiritual growth of these new congregations.

Following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Bishop Samuel, Abadir maintained the relationships he built through letter-writing. The Syrian Monastery—located in a region called ...

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HRWorks Handbook series is a collection of how-to manuals that provide quick guidance on HR matters and legislation as well as useful checklists and worksheets. Each book is based on one structured program that is easily built upon and adapted to suit unique company needs.

 HRWorks Handbook: Salary Administration provides a 12-phase process for salary structure design and administration.

Related Products

• HRWorks Handbook: Orientation
• HRWorks Handbook: Training and Development

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"An excellent information tool that helped to shed some light on a difficult subject in today's business environment for individuals who might not know where to start."

Webinar information current as of March 30, 2010

HR practices are always on the front line and mistakes can put your organization at risk, not to mention impact your bottom line and jeopardize your department's credibility. This archived webinar will look at the top ten mistakes in HR, providing you with the tools you need to recognize them in advance and implement the appropriate mitigation strategies.

Bonus: A copy of the supporting paper and a complete Question and Answer (Q&A) document prepared by the speaker will be provided in this archived webinar.

Learn how to:

• Appreciate the importance of aligning and communicating individual and corporate goals
• Recognize the need for job descriptions and their usefulness in an integrated HR Strategy
• Appreciate the true consequences of retaining counterproductive employees
• Grasp the importance of employee recognition and the impact of neglecting to provide continual feedback
• Know why they need to define the "rules of engagement" for staff
• Learn how to deal with a management team that wants to cut your training budget

Speaker:

Timothy R. McConnell, B.A, M.P.A., SPHR, CMC
Tim McConnell is Managing Partner and a Senior HR Strategist with McConnell HR Consulting Inc. in Ottawa. He has over 25 years experience in Human Resources management, both as a Director of HR and as a senior HR consultant. Tim provides strat

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"Very informative, direct and relevant information provided."

Webinar information current as of October 6, 2009

In an unstable economy, employers are faced with some tough decisions surrounding layoffs and employee terminations. During this webinar, Jamie Knight of Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti LLP will give you the tools you need to successfully determine, administer, and oversee the temporary or permanent reduction of your work-force. Jamie will walk you through tips on how to effectively communicate to your staff, ways to manage rumours and response reactions and how to ensure that the ‘survivors’ remain engaged and motivated.

Key Learning Objectives:

• Improved decision-making about work-force reductions
• Understanding the importance of pre-determined policies and procedures for lay-offs and employment terminations
• The various types of work-force reductions and understanding the appropriate choice
• Legal and effective implementation of work-force reductions and follow-through
• Managing the fallout – the need for effective internal and external communication
• Recognizing the importance of keeping the remaining employees informed and engaged

Speaker

James G. Knight
Jamie Knight, a partner at Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti LLP, represents management in all areas of employment and labour relations law, with particular experience in guiding employers through all stages of the dismissal process, including trial and appeals if litigation ensures. Jamie is a teacher and trainer, and advocates sound human resources practices in both union and non-union workplaces. His clients are in industries as diverse as manufacturing, technology, financial services, entertainment and construction. Jamie is an experienced litigator, in

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Elkins, Kelly M., author

Engelkirk, Paul G., author

Pagana, Kathleen Deska, 1952- author

Silman, Alan J., author

Barr, Donald A., author

Cloutier, Michelle M., author

Celentano, David D., author

Gabbard, Glen O, author

Rifai, Nader, author

Ross, Michael H., author

Harriott, Melphine, author

Australia. Parliament. Senate. Select Committee on Stillbirth Research and Education

Australia. Parliament. Senate. Community Affairs References Committee

Bruno, Michael A., author

Australia. Parliament. Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme

Australia. Parliament. Senate. Select Committee into the Obesity Epidemic in Australia

Australia. Parliament. Senate. Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee, author, issuing body

Australia. Parliament. House of Representatives. Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport

Drake, Richard L. (Richard Lee), 1950- author

Dickson, Robert A., author

Benson, Jill