Being Patient in an Impatient World
On World AIDS day, Richard Carson from ACET Ireland reflects on advent, masks and quilts at a time of two global pandemics in his guest blog for VOX magazine.
“Their faithful, local act seemed more apt than the grandeur of a sunrise.”
Early on Sunday morning, the first Sunday in Advent, I headed out for a cycle hoping to catch the sunrise. However, such a relevant image on the liturgical New Years Day was out of reach yet again. Fog, mist and cloud cover won out and my Instagram feed remained empty. Heading east across the suburbs of Dublin, though, I did catch another picture that maybe carried greater significance. Near my home, a large church had its lights on in the darkness. It was clear that, before public worship was allowed again, the small community of priests living adjacent to the sanctuary had gathered to pray. Their faithful, local act seemed more apt than the grandeur of a sunrise.
Since March, our Quilt Group in ACET has been unable to meet. This small group of women first gathered about 30 years ago to use needle and thread to create a memorial for their loved ones lost as a result of AIDS. Not content with the completion of the initial quilts, they continued to meet fortnightly, creating further quilts that celebrated their hopes for the future, their local community in south-west inner city Dublin and much more. Their commitment was more to one another and their local place than it was to any outcomes or impact their gathering produced. They would display their work on an annual basis but never stepped into a bigger spotlight to grow or expand. In doing this, the Quilt Group transcends a certain form of violence that insists we demonstrate our scalability and sustainability in order to have value. Their peaceable presence has included creating memorials for those of their own number who have recently passed away. All that was until another pandemic disrupted their plans.
But Covid-19 has not confined the quilting materials to the shelf. Rather, ACET Co-Founder and Quilt Group Coordinator, Terrie Colman-Black, has got out the sewing machine and created dozens of reusable facemasks. These have been distributed to all of those living with and affected by HIV that we support and are an important part of the care our staff and volunteers offer through the challenges of Covid-19.
Advent disrupts our independence and belief that we can change the world on our own. By beginning in darkness and awaiting the light, we insist that we are helpless without Him who is beyond us, who came and who is to come. Advent renews our minds away from the idea that we are the primary agents of the kingdom of God on earth, to the reality that God is. It reminds us that patience, rather than seizing the day, is the heartbeat of transformation. It is, in the words of Fleming Rutledge, “a season not for the faint of heart.”
“Advent does not leave us passive in response to God’s initiative.”
Advent does not leave us passive in response to God’s initiative. Jesus used the image of a servant watching out for the return of his master (Mark 13:34-37). This attentiveness is manifest when we act justly, love mercy and walk humbly even when the world around us points us to do the opposite. It is profoundly active, just not in the way that the impatience of the Key Performance Indicator may demand. The process of action and renewal that affirms God’s existence is described by William Cavanaugh as to:
Favour small steps in collaboration with the powerless. Listen to people on the ground. Favour steps that are reversible, and always be ready for surprise. To be surprised by people, and be surprised by God.
Dorothy Day said that the response to violence should be penance. At this intersection of our two global epidemics, Terrie’s sewing of masks following decades of patient gathering, journeying and stitching is a penitent act of mercy. It is not solely a helpful Covid prevention measure. It shows the fortitude of one who stands on the heights with her face towards the dawn, when all will be made new.
Richard Carson is the CEO of ACET Ireland - a Christian response to HIV running a range of projects in Dublin as well as fundraising for supports in rural Zimbabwe.
