Ryan Kerrison
Hailing from the sweltering North of Australia, Ryan came to C3 College armed with a guitar and two backpacks!
He completed a Cert IV in Contemporary Music & Worship Leading on the guitar and an Advanced Diploma in Leadership & Theology. Ryan also completed a Bachelor of Theology with Alphacrucis and is currently pursuing his Master’s degree with a focus in Christology and the Church.
As I sit here contemplating what to write, the question that I can’t shake is – what do people need to hear during this time? Do they need comfort? Perhaps inspiration and answers in the face of crisis, loss and uncertainty? The question of what people need to hear is one I’m sure hounds many. From pastors working to shift and redefine church services, to students worried about making rent, bosses who are trying to take measures to save their businesses, to teachers who are working to adapt their classrooms spaces and pedagogies…through to single parents wondering if they’ll make it to their next paycheck, to the elderly or disabled in nursing homes or hospices.
No one regardless of class or creed is left unaffected by this pandemic. In turn, our response may benefit from appropriate restraint that ministers only to those who fit our predetermined so-called ‘target audience’. I sincerely doubt that short-form prose is the proper context to respond to the myriad of questions being asked right now, but perhaps I might offer some reflections and some commentary during this time.
My first reflection is a realisation of the importance of finding an expression for what emotes the inexpressible. A lot of the emotions present at this time are just that, incommunicable. When I can’t find the words for the angst and frustration from this “hermitic existence”, missing time spent with my loved ones, my friends, or even just the ability to sit in a café and watch the day roll by. These are small creature-comforts, I confess – but they most certainly provide more than mere comfort for this creature.
For me, this expression is aided by the arts. Perhaps yours may come in the fortunate happenstance of discovering a new song that captures the cry of your soul at this moment. Perhaps solace may be found in words penned by poet or author – able to apprehend the imagination and invigorate the senses and even elevate you above the mire and the noise.
My other instinct is to encourage us not to neglect the discipline of play. The fundamental experience of mutual fun and enjoyment is genuinely one of life’s most rewarding qualities, that may all too easily be swallowed up by more grim matters of life. I can assure you, that in even the direst of circumstance, joy acts like a balm on our weary souls. So even if it is only virtual for now, I urge you, cultivate a sense of play in your routine. Laugh and share moments that we once took for granted. I truly believe these moments will pay dividends to your soul.
My final note is this; let hope in. Often.
Too easily are we are seduced by the siren song of cynicism, particularly the voices of panic and fear wherever we may encounter them. The danger is this. That these melodies, when heard in concert with other voices – particularly the tedium & monotony of life’s present disruptions – may lead us to rehearse their lyrics over in our heads and hearts. So, I urge you, find hope in the small things. Maybe it’s the solace of preserved employment, or the ability to take pause and show love to your neighbour. In your searching, you may consider the reassurance offered by St John of the Cross. “In tribulation, immediately draw near to God with confidence, and you will receive strength, enlightenment, and instruction.”
I hope this global moment passes swiftly and that rather than injury and death taking centre stage in the wake of this crisis, I pray that the power and significance of lament, play, and hope become centrepieces on the landscape of humanity. That communities will emerge from this time not resentful or confused, but with profound depth and clarity wrought by endurance and that this clarity enables them to carry out their missions mindful of suffering, but never fearful, for they have learned to overcome.
Ryan Kerrison, BTh
Online & Academic Officer - C3 College