Jun 11, 2020 | Bern, Switzerland, St. Alban, United Kingdom |
It is hard to write a letter to ‘dear coronavirus’. Even the word ‘dear’ makes us cringe. There is no love lost for this deadly disease. Yet the irony of challenging this ‘dear’ disease directly has not been lost on viewers across 60+ countries and in multiple languages worldwide.
For 12 weeks #dearcoronavirus clips have circulated the globe sharing a message of hope and love. Now, in a final clip we note that “You left emptiness in the lives of millions of people since you arrived. You showed us no love. No values. Left many of us with no future. No community. Showed us the vulnerability of the most powerful.”
But we do not end there. No! The video ends with a challenge. One that affects all of us. Addressing the coronavirus directly it states, “There is nothing more to say about you. Only that you came to change our world. But we are the ones who changed. We found hope in love for humanity.”
It then concludes with the powerful worlds of 1 Corinthians 13:13:
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
In the very first episode, we started a conversation with this unpredictable virus using a warning tone in an imaginary dialogue. The purpose was to tell him our faith in God is stronger than his hateful symptoms.
That theme has developed through the three months of #dearcoronavirus clips. Watch them again, and it is both a moving and exciting journey.
Different clips highlighted the needs and hopes of various groups:
- Our grandparents and the elderly, the most vulnerable in our society. Via children we offered a loving message of support.
- Recorded by people who actually caught the virus, we emphasized a message of hope and resilience.
- We wrapped our arms around those forced to stay at home, experiencing loneliness.
- We saluted doctors, nurses and their fellow staff members, heroes of the moment, called to face this emergency even at the risk of their own health.
- We reached out to those who lost their loved ones because they didn’t make it.
- We thanked those many front-line workers including shopkeepers, cleaners, key workers and more who worked hard to provide needed support and services even in the midst of severe restrictions and difficulties.
- We sent a positive and heart-warming message to our mothers. No thank you is big enough for them.
- We shared how volunteers have lent themselves to unconditionally help others.
- We also included all those who found themselves anxious and struggling to resist.
- And in the 11th episode, focused on a very current and important topic, we challenged racism, remembering that among the victims of Coronavirus, there are also those who have been affected by racial intolerance.
The message of these clips has been shared, translated, incorporated in worship services, on social media, across Hope Channel, and in many innovative ways. From China to Iceland, Canada to South Africa, and over 60 countries in between, this message made an impact.
What more is there to say?
Across Europe and much of Asia, and in some other parts of the world, the incidence of COVID-19 is reducing. It is still there, but people are seeking ways to move on. Schools, shops and workplaces are reopening, people are even talking about the possibility of a summer holiday.
At the same time, we recognize that in the Americas and in parts of Africa and Asia this is still a growing issue, and that even in Europe there is fear of a ‘second wave’. This is not a story that will go away soon.
Yet we are stopping here, with this 12th clip. What more is there to say? The main focus of this final clip is that there is nothing new to say. COVID-19 came to change the world, but we are the ones who changed!
New Focus
Nevertheless, there are important messages still to be heard. In a new campaign we move away from Coronavirus to deal with a larger and more fundamental subject, Uncertainty! At a time when our lives and future appear to be rapidly changing, the aim is to convey fundamental faith and hope in a God who does not abandon, despite the circumstances.
The ‘Uncertainty project’ will last all summer with a new release each Friday. Find out more by visiting: uncertaintyproject.org.
About
#dearcoronavirus is a social media project coordinated by the GAiN Europe leadership team in cooperation with the Inter-American and North American Division Communication departments. It is aired in more than sixty countries worldwide, translated in multiple languages and aims to bring hope to millions of people living through difficult times.
This article was originally published on the Trans-European Division’s news site
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