As the days of “social distancing” have turned to weeks and now have extended to a month, the toll that the isolation can take on us is growing. Finding hope, focus, joy, and normalcy in the midst of a pandemic is a new trick for most of us to have to learn. Perhaps the great little one-page guide written by Michael McMains slipped right past you a few weeks ago. It may be more timely now.

Dr. Michael McMains, a new member of Covenant and our Beautiful Minds Coalition, wrote an extremely helpful one-page guide on how we can care for ourselves and one another as we go through this challenging time. I then forwarded it to three entities:

--to the Presbyterian Mental Health Network Steering Committee,
--to Rev. Ann Helmke, the Faith Liaison for the City of San Antonio’s Human Services, and
--to Shannon Royce, Director of The Partnership Center, Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C.

Each of these entities has lauded the value of the simple but deeply helpful document. Dr. McMains’ work has been formatted and tweaked and has now been shared throughout the PCUSA nationally, throughout the ecumenical and interfaith community in San Antonio and nationally through the Dept. of Health & Human Services. You can also find the guide below.