Responsible Leadership during COVID
This pandemic sucks.
It has been over a year since the world was rocked by the initial effects of COVID and we are still in the midst of the pandemic.
Some may say that we here in Australia are lucky, our case-to-death ratio isn’t as high as those in other parts of the world, but that does not mean that people here haven’t been affected by this pandemic. It also doesn’t mean we ignore our responsibility as Christians to ensure the health and safety of all of God’s creation.
After last years lockdown came to an end and we slowly returned to some sort of normality here in NSW, regulations loosening as the weeks went by with less and less cases, until we hit a streak of no cases, we thought we saw the light at the end of the dark tunnel that is COVID.
Many had started planning for face-to-face gatherings again, companies, schools, churches, and for some time we were able to meet and gather in ways that we were able to prior to COVID.
…
…
…
Then, cases began to rise again… and haven’t stopped increasing…
We have now been in lockdown again for 6 weeks, with an additional 4 weeks announced recently by the Government.
Within these last couple of weeks, many have had to make the responsible call to cancel events; camps, conferences, celebrations. Many have dedicated time and effort and resources to plan and organise these events, some even being events that were rescheduled from last year. And here we are again.
We have had to cancel School of Discipleship, YouLEAD, move the Out of the Box conference to an online only mode, and now with the extended lockdown, the PULSE team have had to postpone Uniting Youth Camp for a second year.
It’s frustrating but it is important to make these tough calls in order to protect those who are most vulnerable in our communities.
It is also important to look after yourselves during these times, not just in regard to the virus and your health, but in how your respond to the decisions that are being made after weeks, months, years, of planning and organising. Feelings of disappointment, anger and spite, may arise, so it is important to check in with yourself, process, and talk to someone if necessary to help you through your response to the situation.
With all that is going on during this pandemic, make sure to look after yourself physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Events can be cancelled, postponed, rescheduled and reorganised, but there is only one you, so look after you and those around you.
Remember you can keep in touch with PULSE by signing up for our monthly newsletter, or for further information contact our team via email, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
Ofa Foiakau is the Field Officer (Central/West), and Youth/High School ministry leader as a part of the PULSE team.
