Rev. Crystal Hardin is assistant to the rector at Christ Church, Georgetown, in the Diocese of Washington. She is a graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary and co-editor of Preaching Politics: The Hope or the Curse of the Episcopal Church (2020).

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Our Church Doors Are Shut and Our Members Quarantined. Yet Grace Abounds

by Crystal Hardin 03-13-2020

Christ Church, Georgetown, Episcopal in Washington, D.C., Public Domain

On March 7, our rector, Tim Cole, was diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Sleepless nights and frenzied days followed. The pace has been relentless. My concern for our community, especially its most vulnerable, my family, and my own health have left me tender and, at times, fearful. Yet, through it all, God remains close and grace abounds. While I am limited to phone calls and video chats, I have never felt closer to my people. We have whispered our fears, laughed at our misplaced anxieties, and committed ourselves to being church, even without our beloved building and cherished traditions.