With Hope

​During the change of seasons, I like to reflect and move on, to learn from the past season of growth, and to plan for the next. With 2020, every week can feel like a new season, the various political climates globally, passing of important figures, and not to mention a pandemic. This is not a year, or a season, that anyone could prepare for. 
 
James 5:8 says, “You also must be patient. Keep your hopes high, for the day of the Lord’s coming is near.” Amidst a global pandemic and social and political upheaval, hope can feel distant and impossible, but it will remain the one positive force guaranteed to drive us forward. Loss of hope leads to complacency, to laziness, to giving up. I have found that in my personal life, it is when I lose hope, when I lose sight of the Light in the world, that I find myself in true chaos. As James says, “[...] the day of the Lord’s coming is near.” This too shall pass, but the question is, as people, will we come out the other side united or more divided than ever?
 
In times of uncertainty I recall the words of Gandhi, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” This is a divisive moment in history, a time for humanity to come together or to fall apart. With hope and community, we can conquer anything. A global pandemic is not an easy historic period to live through, and can be downright exhausting. There is no sugarcoating life right now, making it even easier to succumb to feelings of despair. Proverbs 31:16-17 says, “She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong.” In summary, if you set your mind on something, you can and will get it done. 
 
Imagine what we could accomplish if people thought and acted as a we. To once again accept a collective consciousness and “treat others as we wish to be treated.” To live as community, I imagine a community that supports and protects one another. Where children don’t go hungry, places of worship are safe, and people are not in danger due to their skin tone or sexuality. 
 
When I was first introduced to verse Micah 6:8 as a child, I clung to it as a way of life and have continued to use it as my guiding light. Micah says, “And what does the Lord require of you; to seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” The utopian community I hope for is one that seeks out justice, loves mercy, and walks humbly; a society that views every person as a neighbour worthy of kindness and compassion. The remaining question is why is such a community only a dream? 
 
Together it would not take long to create a new reality. 

​— Katelyn R. Cody 
United Church of Canada

As a part-time post-secondary student, Katelyn spent her quarantine living with her parents and reconnecting with family. Katelyn’s journey with the WCRC started in Germany for the 2017 General Council as a youth delegate. She then travelled to Guyana in the fall of 2018 for their General Assembly. 
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