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For the Rev. Canon Cindy Evans Voorhees of St. James Episcopal Church in Newport Beach, the pandemic has been especially challenging in addressing escalating emotional turmoil experienced by parishioners.
Since the initial lockdown last spring, Voorhees along with the church Care Team began witnessing intense and unusual behavioral changes from normal stable people as the pandemic rocked their world.
“There was heightened anxiety with everybody,” said Voorhees. “Mothers going bonkers about taking on a new role of home- schooling children, divorce among elderly couples, unreasonable anger, people with cancer so scared of COVID they avoided surgery and the most vulnerable seniors feeling expendable.”