Nobody came through the door with a fever. The COVID checkers made sure of that. But inside the school gym at Immaculate Conception in North Delta, the fire was back in full blaze for the first in-person Catholic charismatic event in B.C. in more than two years.
About 175 people filled well-spaced chairs on the gym floor for the annual Vancouver archdiocesan event Oct. 22 and 23. Masks were mandatory and contact tracing was in effect, but the program was just what charismatic Catholics have been waiting for: boisterous prayer with uplifted hands; hard-driving praise music; fiery, upbeat preaching; praying in tongues; and wall-to-wall praise of God.
Five major face-to-face charismatic events in various parts of the province have been cancelled or moved online since the pandemic began, and Lennie David, vice-chair of Vancouver Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services, said she prayed for a long time about whether the event should proceed.
She said God’s answer was, “I want you not to fear. Just go ahead. I promise you it will be a great success and many healings will happen.”
Featured speakers were the husband-and-wife team of Deacon Larry Oney and Andi Oney, from Louisiana. Deacon Larry was a last-minute replacement for Father Mark Cherry of Nova Scotia, who had been scheduled to speak along with Andi but had to cancel.
Both speakers said the pandemic is a time of anointing from God, as well as a time of challenge. Andi compared COVID to the devastating plague of locusts which forms the background of the Old Testament book of the prophet Joel.
In the book of Joel, the prophet asks, “Has anything like this ever happened in your time?” Andi said the question pertains to our own times with COVID and natural disasters around the world.
She quoted additional verses from Joel: “Joy has withered from among mankind” (Joel 1:12) and the grain offering and the drink offering are cut off from the house of the Lord. The priests mourn, the ministers of the Lord,” (Joel 1:9) referencing the stoppage of public worship for many months.
In Joel 2:12, the prophet said we can return to the Lord and be restored “even now,” a phrase she expanded on by referencing John’s Gospel. There, Martha of Bethany tells Jesus that he can raise her dead brother Lazarus. “I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
God’s promise to us remains “even now,” not only in the pandemic, but in all circumstances, Andi said, and God will respond “even now” amid hardship, obstacles, or sin if we turn to him.
“In the middle of the pandemic, God is saying to the charismatic renewal, ‘grab your torch. Grab the fire and run,’” Andi said.
“We are the chosen people. We were chosen to live in this time. If God has allowed this to happen, there is a message for our betterment. We do not have time for anxiety and fear. There is no time now to say we can hold anything back from the Lord.”
Deacon Larry also referred to the raising of Lazarus after the stone at the door of his tomb was rolled away.
“During the pandemic we’ve had some stones in front of us, and it’s time to roll them back,” he said.
Citing the Old Testament story of Esther, who was made queen of Persia just in time to save her fellow Jews from a murderous plot, Deacon Larry asked, “how do you know that God has not called you for just such a time as this?”
God will give us the power through the Holy Spirit to meet the challenge, he said. “We’re at a moment right now where God is demonstrating his power,” he said. “We have a great responsibility on the earth right now.”
He said charismatic prayer groups should not worry if their numbers are dwindling or their membership is aging. They should give only minimal attention to administration and stay in the presence of God through praise and worship. “The numbers don’t matter. What matters is [God’s] anointing. Even when you don’t see him, he’s working.”
