By Richard Long

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. (Proverbs 27:1)

I’m thankful that I resisted the temptation to preach a sermon on “2020 Vision” back at the beginning of this year. Not that I didn’t have lots of plans for the year, but by Easter time it became clear that God had different plans for all of us, and for everyone else around the globe.

Who knew that the most common phrase in 2020 would be “Your microphone is muted” or that we would all become “Zoombies”?

There is a popular meme making its way around social media this week that tells us that, as of January 1, we can all say “Hindsight is 2020.” I am not so sure of that either.

Seeing the positive

I have heard lots of opinions about what God was seeking to accomplish in the midst of the pandemic. Some of it rings true, but it is more likely that we will need a bit more distance from this COVID season before we truly have perspective on what were the big changes that happened to all of us.

It is always good to look back and appreciate the goodness of God. It astounds me when I reflect on all the Lord accomplished in the city-church movement over the last 12 months in Ottawa. Crisis, as they say, is an accelerant. Let me give a few examples:

The COVID-19 virus led a significant crisis-management team to emerge among the churches. Thankfully, due to previous challenges with flooding and tornadoes, we already had a Respond Ottawa team on our Love Ottawa platform. This team spun off a very skilled and action-oriented taskforce that immediately went into action.

At first, the greatest need was sourcing personal protective equipment for frontline groups and inner-city missions who might not get it as readily as hospital staff. Then it changed to supporting long-term care residences and their staff who were seeing the greatest casualties. Later, the mental health epidemic became a needed focus. This was, by far, the hardest working team in 2020 as they coordinated and encouraged churches to engage with city needs. Along the way, church response groups made many new connections with the City of Ottawa’s own effort and other key organizations.

Seismic change

However, the pandemic was not the only tragedy that 2020 brought. On May 25 there was another killing of a black man in America. The death of George Floyd became a moment of seismic change that continues to send shock waves to this day. In the midst of the outpouring of grief in our own city, it became clear that God wanted Church leaders to take our own racism seriously.

It started with a painful conversation on the weekly pastors’ prayer call, when three of our black pastors were asked to share what it is really like to live and minister as black leaders in Ottawa. Their gut-wrenching stories led us to realize there was a lot more listening that needed to start happening.

In partnership with the International Pastors and Leaders Forum, the Love Ottawa team set up a Zoom call which we called a “Crucial Conversation on anti-Black Racism”. After the first presentations, it was obvious there were still more stories to be heard. A second, third, and fourth “Crucial Conversation” were held over the ensuing months, with up to 110 leaders on each call.

The Lord is clearly pursuing us with His call for repentance and reconciliation. Francophone and Anglophone leaders from both sides of the Ottawa river have deepened their friendships as they press into an ongoing initiative which they are calling “Operation Reconciliation”. There is still much to work on as we head into 2021.

Unexpected blessing

Let me describe one other unexpected blessing that came out of a year of great challenges. Prayer is on the rise. We saw early signs of this as many pastoral leaders joined online for the annual Prayer Summit. Many weekly virtual prayer gatherings began to pop up for business people, for pastors in different parts of the city, and randomly as believers prayed for themselves and the city. A nightly midnight prayer watch that began in January has continued through the year and birthed a daily 6 a.m. and 12 noon prayer time. Pastors from different parts of the city and different denominational streams are reporting an upsurge of intercession among their people.

Vision 2021

I don’t have a lot of predictions for 2021. It’s pretty clear that there are still many challenges ahead as we emerge from the pandemic. Yet, if we continue with this momentum of prayer, I am confident that the Lord will do even greater things among us in the months to come.

Richard Long is the director of Love Ottawa and a member of the One Way Ministries team.