Most evenings these days our family takes a walk around our eclectic neighborhood of tightly spaced houses. With everyone homebound, cars spill out of each driveway. People are in their yards or out walking. I’ve met more neighbors (from a safe distance) in the last two weeks than in the previous two years. 

On Wednesday’s walk, a smiling woman in her late fifties stood with her dog outside her home. She spoke to us in an accent I couldn’t quite place. ​“I’m so bored,” she shared. I mumbled something about the challenges of this time, then she gave an unexpected reply. 

I wanted to make sure I heard her correctly. ​“Did you say, ​‘a time of awakening?’” 

“Yes,” she went on, ​“I think neighbors and families are seeing one another in a way they haven’t before.”

In the midst of the unfolding chaos I’m holding onto her words as a prayer.

For many though any light of awakening is too distant to see. Thankfully, in times when explanations and hope rings hollow, Scripture makes room for grief and lament, as N.T. Wright wrote about in TIME this week.

Holy Week is upon us, and never more have we needed a God who is intimately acquainted with human suffering.

Some friends of Renovaré are offering creative ways to engage with the Passion in this time where being together physically is not an option. Some of them are below. We pray they are a blessing in this unique season.