Page 35 - Presbyterian Connection

Connection
NEWS
Social Isolation
in a Time of Covid
presbyterian.ca
SPRING 2023
PRESBYTERIAN
35
By Brenton Harding, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Calgary, Alta.
Social isolation, like that caused by the Covid pandemic, can have a serious health impact equivalent to smoking five cigarettes a day.
In a presentation to a group of Calgary seniors, Joelle Johnson of the Calgary non-profit carya, an agency striving to create strong families and communities, said that unseen conditions brought on by the pandemic, such as social isolation, are having an “enormous impact” on mental health—par- ticularly in seniors.
She told the Session that basi- cally an individual’s overall health has three main components: mental, physical and social. Good social health involves interacting
with others. For seniors, much of their social interaction had been reduced during the pandemic, in part by funding cutbacks for social service agencies.
These agencies were often meeting with seniors in their resi- dences, and those activities all but ended during the pandemic. Rather than cutting back funding, governments should be increas- ing contributions so that agencies like carya can maintain or increase their social visits with those in the community who are relatively iso- lated, such as seniors and new mothers.
Even though Covid seems to be winding down, the trauma caused by it will be around for a while.
“We are going to be going through this for quite some time,” Joelle said.
Current conditions are the “new normal” and professionals, like social workers, as well as indi- viduals, are going to have to learn to deal with this and adopt new behaviours. She said individu- als need to ask themselves what it is they need, then satisfy those needs.
As much as socializing may seem low priority, Joelle dis- cussed several cases that showed the significant positive impact on the health of individuals who are socializing.
She spoke of the case of an old-
er lady living alone in a community just outside Calgary’s downtown core. Since the pandemic made socializing difficult, the lady de- cided she would take action on her own by waving to people.
Joelle told the seniors group that one way for the lady to socialize was to go out and stand on a busy street corner. From the sidewalk, she waved to motorists. That was all, she just waved. Her waving turned out to be therapy for herself
and for the many passersby she waved to each day.
The Mission Team at St. An- drew’s Presbyterian Church in Calgary, Alta., has an ongoing pro- gram on mental health. And Joelle Johnson has presented several times on the impor tant topic of seniors’ mental health.
After a break during the Covid pandemic, the St. Andrew’s Mis- sion Team is planning its next seminar in the Spring of 2023.
duce their new Children and Youth Director—me—Paulina Rober ts. After working in children’s minis- try in various churches for the past (almost) 10 years, it was exciting for me to join a church group that is outwardly focused and cares so deeply about community connec- tion and engagement. It was great to partner with the youth and put forth an event that the whole com- munity could enjoy.
All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed seeing children and families back in the church, and we hope to make a tradition of putting on an event for the young people in the community, prior to the annual Santa Claus Parade.
All Ages Worship in Bradford
By Paulina Roberts, Children and Youth Director, St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Bradford, Ont.
On Saturday, Nov. 19, St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Bradford West Gwillimbury, Ont., hosted a worship event for the children and families in the community, ahead of the annual Bradford Santa Claus Parade. St. John’s wanted to provide its congregants and fel- low community members with a place to come together and wor- ship God—in a format that was inclusive for all family members, from the oldest down to the very youngest. And what better way to do this than through music!
The event consisted of a KiDs
Worship concer t, led by singer and songwriter Wanda Mann and her children’s worship group. The children in Wanda’s worship group came to St. John’s early in the af- ternoon to practice their songs and actions and work together as a team to ensure that they were ready to lead everyone in an en- thusiastic time of singing. It was amazingtoseethechildrenand youth so dedicated to practicing and learning how to lead others well.
Since its establishment in 1819, St. John’s has made a point of serving the physical, emotional and spiritual needs in the com- munity of Bradford West Gwillim- bury—and this event was no dif- ferent! The KiDs Worship concer t
was originally intended to be a part of the festivities to celebrate St. John’s 200th anniversary, but the plans were halted due to the pan- demic. However, the concer t was a fabulous oppor tunity for children and families from St. John’s, other local churches, and throughout the community to come, enjoy the music and worship God. It did not matter what church the attendees came from (or if they even came from a church at all), for all that mattered was bringing the com- munity together and offering a safe and welcoming space in which everyone could dance, sing and worship the Lord.
After the concert, St. John’s provided pizza for everyone before they headed to the Santa Claus Parade. Sharing a meal together with all the attendees, as well as the KiDs Worship group, allowed foratimeofconnectionandcom- munication among all people. A safe space was created in which everybody was able to sit with one another, regardless of their views and beliefs, and share a meal and freely engage in pleasant conver- sation. It was delightful to walk into the room and see it full of peo- ple gathered in laughter—such a beautiful and refreshing site after
a couple of years in which most events and programs for children and youth had to be conducted vir tually.
This event also provided the youth of St. John’s with the op- por tunity to volunteer and con- nect with the younger children. A handful of youth volunteers were on deck that day to help greet the children and worship with all the families. The youth were also able to serve their community by help- ing to prepare and present the St. John’s parade float. And although the temperatures were quite frigid that day, the youth remained dedi- cated. It was great to see them so happy to be involved in volunteer- ing at their church and to see their willingness to help wherever it was needed the most.
One of the purposes behind this event was for St. John’s to intro-