Things I Never Learned in Theological School!

Matthew 25: 40

And the king will answer them,

“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, 

you did it to me.”   

The first time I suspected that a Theological Education hadn’t totally prepared me for all of the tasks expected of a minister in small town Alberta, was on a Monday evening about 10 o’clock, as I began cutting yet another plastic table cloth into strips. My church was expecting about 30 kids the next day for a mid week gathering and I was making Pentecost wind socks out of the brightly colored strips of plastic. This suspicion, of not being totally prepared, was later confirmed as I carved beef for the fall supper, washed dishes on Shrove Tuesday and helped decorate a float for the annual Rodeo Parade. 

After my arrival in Campbell River, my education continued. I learned how to unplug drains on the roof, sweep a parking lot, flip pancakes, and serve lunch on Saturdays to those struggling in the inner city.  Some of the new skills I have learned at Comox United Church include hosting Zoom meetings, and preaching to a camera in an empty Sanctuary.

What brought all of this to mind was that on Thursday afternoon I participated in a workshop learning how to administer Naloxone to someone experiencing a drug overdose (I now have 3 Naloxone kits). I never dreamt, when I began this adventure into ministry, that having the skills to reverse an opioid overdose would be something I needed to learn.  I’m not sure if I’ll need it at Comox United Church, since I hardly interact with street people here, but I do still volunteer at the Campbell River Community Kitchen.

One of the fallacies we have about the opioid crisis is . . . it’s those people – the poor, the marginalized, the dispossessed. Not necessarily so!  In fact many of the deaths are occurring in middle class homes, where for some people, what may have started out as a prescription for an injury or a headache or a sore back/leg/shoulder has turned into a dependence on drugs that eventually can no longer be met by the medical profession.  For others, the stress and depression brought on by the pandemic has brought about a mental health crisis resulting in people self medicating with street drugs.

In 2020, in BC, just over 1700 people died from a drug overdose, compared to a total of 1440 deaths from COVID-19 in BC. Fact: more people die from drug overdose than COVID-19 in the province of British Columbia. It makes me sad that it is hardly even a topic of discussion.  The hot topic these days is, “How soon will I be getting my vaccination?”   This invariably leads to a conversation about when will we see our families and our friends, where will our first vacation be and even, when can church begin to meet in person again.  There is an assumption that by summer we will all be vaccinated and life will return to normal.  I understand and I get it but . . .

There is no vaccine for the opioid crisis in this country. People don’t want to talk about the root causes of addiction – greed of multi-national pharmaceutical companies, mental health issues, and youth who are victims of abuse and trauma.  It’s amazing isn’t it? Hundreds of people are dying.  They are our sisters, our brothers, our children, our friends, and yet we continue to treat this humanitarian crisis as a criminal matter brought on by some kind of moral failing.  My suspicion is that if judging people and then punishing them was an effective way of dealing with addictions, we would have won the “war on drugs” a long time ago.

Perhaps it’s time to start dealing with the root causes of addiction and a society that ignores the issues.  We might even begin to look at models to address the unnecessary deaths that actually work.  Does the criminalization of drugs serve society or merely enhance the profits of organized crime?  This week Black Press Media pointed out that there have been no deaths at our supervised injection sites in BC.  In Portugal, the government is distributing a safe supply of drugs to cut off the circulation of a poisoned and illegal drug supply. These are positive signs.

I believe the opioid crisis is a complicated and difficult problem with no easy answers.  It requires multi-faceted and flexible solutions. How can we respond to the crisis, as people who follow in the way of Jesus the Christ? The first is, as a Lenten people, we are called to side with marginalized and oppressed people everywhere.  Second, we need to accept the addiction problem as a medical and societal issue, not a criminal and moral issue.  Thirdly, we need to respond with compassion and prayer, not judgment and punishment. And lastly, like me, be prepared to respond.   I hope I never have to use my Naloxone kit to save someone’s life, but I want to be able to respond, if called upon; whether on the street, in the church, in my office or in someone’s home – for this opioid crisis crosses economic, racial and demographic barriers.

We need to talk about this unprecedented human tragedy. The time for just accepting the situation is finished. The time for moving to action has arrived.  As a people of the way, it is our role to change acceptance of death and suffering to building hope for a new way, new life and a new humanity.

Amen