God Sustains

Dear Sisters in Christ,

Five months ago, when the impact of the coronavirus pandemic first began to be felt in the United States, I don’t think most of us thought we would still be in the thick of it at the end of summer. 

Our board surely didn’t! Because of that, we pursued plans to hold our Fall retreats in Europe and Asia and voted to reschedule Forum for this Fall. Unfortunately, as we all know too well, we are still in the midst of this crisis. After much prayer and deliberation, our team made the prayerful and prudent decision to cancel both the Asian Regional Retreat and Forum 2020. 

These decisions, along with the many choices so many of us are making about school for our children, when to return to Mass, how to celebrate special family occasions, and just generally how to go about our daily lives, are not easy. They are decidedly difficult and I know many of us are feeling weary of this. 

I had the chance to share a meal with a few of our MCCW sisters last week. Each of us shared the challenges we are facing during these hard times. In sharing one another’s struggles, we found comfort. Later when I was reflecting on that, God offered me His comfort, too. 

I was reminded of the many times in the Bible when our scriptural brothers and sisters had to endure hard things for far longer than they anticipated. When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, I doubt any of them expected the forty-year journey ahead of them. And when Jesus ascended into Heaven and the angels assured His apostles He would return just as He had left, I don’t think they would have been thinking in the thousands of years. 

But in every instance, God provides His love and wisdom to sustain His followers. And He does the same for us today as we navigate this pandemic. 

Your MCCW Worldwide Board is relying on that love and wisdom as we plan for the future. Exciting things are on the horizon for MCCW: planning for our other regional retreats continues in earnest; new ways to virtually connect, unite, and inspire you are being developed; and we will have exciting announcements in the coming months about Forum 2022, as well as updated Faith Formation resources!

Our team is deeply saddened by the cancellation of the Asian Regional Retreat and Forum 2020. We were looking forward to connecting and uniting with you and we were overjoyed at the idea of being inspired by our speakers and by opportunities to worship together. But like the Israelites wandering the desert, we, too, shall be sustained until we can be together again. 

Yours in Christ,

Kim Miller