Today, as in ages past, some of our brightest minds are speaking from the pulpit, offering insights both theological and secular. In this time of pandemic, faith leaders offer perspectives that transcend charts, graphs, maps, data points and social media. Following, we continue our occasional compilation of wisdom culled from recent columns in the Faith Matters series on Saturday’s Religion Page.

■“We all wear masks — our persona — all of the time. Masks have a way of hiding the person behind the mask. Even so, we are known perfectly, completely, as we really are: ‘For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.’ I Corinthians 13:12.” — The Rev. Lloyd Parrill, UCC minister, ret.

■“My uniform is that of a health care worker in these uncertain times, including mask, goggles and gloves, all the while caring for others with compassion and love. The added pieces of my uniform are not just PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), but also those from God’s word, carefully and prayerfully put on daily to protect myself and also the people in my care.” — Sue Lahoski, Chaplain/Spiritual Care Coordinator at The Farren

■“People talk today about those on the ‘front lines’ of the pandemic. But wherever we are — staying home with kids, alone in a house making masks, driving a bus or caring for the sick — we are all on the front lines. We can all be part of a larger movement of help and healing, knowing there is a greater power that binds us together, especially when we feel like we’re falling apart.” — Ben Tousley, M.Div., spiritual counselor for Cooley Dickinson Hospice

■“The threats posed by climate change, nuclear armament and the novel coronavirus share three characteristics: They can inspire fear in us; they can divide us, and they can convince us that we are powerless in their midst. Yet these threats also offer the opposite response: They can inspire courage we never knew we had; they can bring us together in ways that never would have occurred, and they can generate human will that, in the absence of such threats, never would have been. The choice of how we respond is ours — just as it was for Jesus.” — The Rev. Christopher Carlisle, director, Cathedral in the Light

■“Albert Camus’ “The Plague” is a metaphor for the political decay, the rise of fascism and the retreat of social and civil order that overtook Europe in the 1930s. Yet, any plague — actual or metaphorical — puts a choice before us, one that Christians should immediately recognize: We can either be selfish and solitary, or we can choose to live in solidarity with others, serving especially those who suffer.” — The Rev. Ted Thornton, Episcopal priest (ret.)

■“I pray often for this country. I try to state my hopes and prayers in a way that everyone can say ‘Amen!’ to. I do not, for example, pray that this party or this candidate rise or fall. Instead, I aim for the undergirding common needs and the overarching common goods that can lead us in the direction of a ‘common bond in true harmony.’ I pray that my fellow citizens feel safe and dignified. I pray for powerful connections across cultural, religious and race lines, because our unity is an honor to and a reflection of the One Who Created Us.” — Rabbi Andrea Cohen-Kiener, Temple Israel Greenfield

■“We are physically distancing from one another, but we should not, and cannot, socially distance. We should not, and cannot, spiritually distance. We need each other and that which binds us together now more than ever. We are weary, angry and fearful. And we are inescapably connected.” — The Rev. Marguerite Sheehan, Trinity Church

■“I’m not sure what turtles do when they retract into their shells. Do they just wait there for the danger to pass and then emerge to go ahead with ‘life as normal’? I am hopeful that, just as we as people of faith learned and grew as faith communities while sequestered from the virus, we are also learning and listening and changing the world around us. Instead of retreating, may we step up, join the marches, petition our governments and embrace our God-created diversity.” — Pastor Judy Jones, South Athol and Orange United Methodist churches