A Covid-19 Mantra

I’m intending to write a sermon for every Sunday while we cannot meet in a church building for worship. I hope while shielding for however long that is to provide some reflections on the lectionary passages for each week in the hope they might be helpful. Here’s the view from where I’m writing, above. 

The idea will be you read the passages I am reflecting on, then sit in silence for a while, then ask yourself before you read my rambling what words in the passages speak to you, and what might God be saying to us all where we find ourselves. Enjoy! 

The passages for this reflection are Psalm 130 and John 11: 1 - 45.

Life in this country has changed for us all dramatically since we’ve all been told we must stay inside as this coronavirus spreads. The Prime Minister has started to use several mantras over the last few days I have noticed. He’s writing a letter to us this week to remind us of them. 

“This government has wrapped its arms around every working person like no government before.” 

“We will beat this!” 

“Stay at home. Protect the NHS. Save lives.”

While watching the nightly Downing Street press conferences is serious stuff, it’s also fun to count how many times these phrases have been trotted out by the Prime Minister and now by other cabinet ministers as he self isolates having himself been tested as positive. You wonder whether the more the mantras are shared, the more those leading us through this crisis hope they will go into our heads and we will live believing them. 

The Gospel story for this Sunday brings Jesus into the heart of raw human experience. He shares a mantra about his presence and his message into the situation he finds himself in. The story is about death and it is about the promise of new life out of death. The story is about trust when you haven’t got much to trust especially when you don’t see any end to what you find yourself facing. We will come to that divine mantra later. 

Jesus finds himself back in Bethany with his friends Mary and Martha. Their brother, Lazarus, has died. It’s a long story. Read it slowly. I am merely in this reflection looking at three points. There are loads of sermons you could preach on these forty five verses!

First, when we are in a bad place, it’s okay to name it. Martha is overcome with grief that her brother has died. Part of the grief process is anger, and Martha is angry...

“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not  have died.” 

Life can be full of ifs and if only’s...

If only you had come...

If only I hadn’t said that...

If only I hadn’t made that decision...

If only people had been kinder...

If only I’d tried harder...

If only I didn’t have to stay indoors for ever...

If only things right now, were different...

If only I could get a supermarket delivery slot...

If only she hadn’t left me...

If only he hadn’t died...

Bereavement is a horrible thing to get through. It eats at you, rocks your world and you wonder how you can move forward, because you miss the person who has died, or the relationship that has ended, or the job you have suddenly lost means you don’t know how you are going to make ends meet, or the sudden illness you get means you cannot do what you used to do. 

Maybe we need to see this enforced staying in as bereavement. Our normal way of life has gone. We are trying to say it’s okay not to go out, but I’m struggling today. It’s only the first week of lockdown. We could be doing this for ages. My wife is walking round like a caged animal saying she is bored as I sit and write this! We are beginning to get cabin fever and watching too much rubbish television! I sat and watched one of the most dreadful films ever last night until about 2am in the morning. I stayed to the end to see if it improved. It didn’t!  There is also a major bereavement we cannot meet together for worship, although I’m grateful to lovely clergy people who are providing worship virtually at the moment, but for many of our folk modern technology isn’t part of their life. And I’m missing having a congregation to keep in touch with and help, still being without appointment. 

The first message I want to share from this account of the death of Lazarus. It’s quite alright to say we are struggling, we aren’t coping, we are angry, we are frightened, we are weeping, and we don’t know what the future holds. Martha didn’t say “if only you’d been here” to Jesus, but “if you had been here!” He gets it from her with both barrels. Sometimes in pastoral leadership we will get our people’s raw emotion. 

But Jesus also gets it  that it is alright to admit you aren’t coping. In this story, we have the shortest verse in the Bible: “Jesus wept.” His friend has died. How comforting to know Jesus cries at what is going on around him. He is never remote from us. I love the prayer in the United Reformed Church prayer book for this Sunday: 

What does the Lazarus story say at a time of fear, isolation and uncertainty? 

I am frightened. This thing isn’t going to end quickly. We may need to self isolate for months yet. We don’t know. We need to connect with others however we can, to share how we are feeling and build each other up when we struggle. 

We need to admit when we have days we can’t cope with this lockdown or we have information overload. We need to pray for healing and for peace for those who are unwell, and fear getting unwell and for those who lose loved ones so cruelly. They give out figures of the dead every day. Every one is a person and now every situation I suggest has a Martha in it and a community bewildered full of “if only’s” in it. 

But we also need to do two things: 

We need to celebrate life in the midst of it. The amazing servant ministry of those in the NHS and other public servants, taking great risks, will never be forgotten. Communities are coming together, help is being given to the vulnerable, social media, on line connections and the radio are all being superb. The folk next door who own our holiday let are being really kind. I’m appreciating chats on line with friends I haven’t spoken to at length for ages, I’m appreciating appreciative encouraging notes telling me to keep writing, I have some chapter titles for my book (at last!) and I’ve made a first enquiry about something that might be a bit exciting on a next sabbatical whenever that is allowed. We need to look for life in the small things: today a squirrel running up the trees outside! We need to hold on. What is today will not be tomorrow. 

   

This story was passed to me this week in a blog. The story was told to the writer by a minister who served in the Channel Islands. 

“Guernsey fell to Nazi occupation in World War II. The last hymn sung in one particular church before the occupation began – and therefore the last hymn sung in that church for almost 5 years – was the beloved hymn by Joseph Hart: 

“This, this is the God we adore, 
Our faithful, unchangeable friend, 
Whose love is as great as His power, 
And neither knows measure nor end. 

“’Tis Jesus, the first and the last, 
Whose Spirit shall guide us safe home; 
We’ll praise Him for all that is past, 
And trust him for all that’s to come.” 

The equally moving sequel to the story was that, when the church was liberated at the end of the war and people went back inside the church for the first time in years - they discovered that the numbers were still on the hymn board - they had not been taken down. It meant that, with even greater joy at their liberation, the first service of their return began with the hymn they had sung at their closure: “This, this is the God we adore!” 

I am the resurrection and the life...

Then we need to remember the heart of our faith. That resurrection follows crucifixion. We are an Easter people. We go into the depths, we wait and we rise in glory. I’m reading a lot of guff on line about praying all this away, and this being of Satan, and it being Gods punishment for our sin. It is easy to give unacceptable answers to people to what is going on at the moment. It isn’t easy to wait and have faith but my testimony is that God in Jesus comes unto the waiting and will be faithful. There will be new life —- and the Church will be different because of this time. And if we cannot cope today, well, find some fun. Click on these links sent to me: one is a professional musician playing Pachelbel’s Canon on a rubber chicken, and the other is Sooty and Sweep singing along to Ten Green Bottles!!! 

https://youtu.be/khOfSVULtsU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk15VUCz2Zc

The Church of Scotland starters for worship website has this helpful paragraph: 

“How do we cope with waiting; with leaving space for God, with being expectant, even when there are little or no signs of God? Do we trust in the promises that God will forgive; that God’s steadfast love lasts for ever?”

We listen for the government mantras and we follow them however hard. But more importantly we remember the nature of him we follow: I am the resurrection and life. Let us be angry, let us weep, let us be numb, and from those places watch him bid us come out of our tombs and go forth into life again — even if we have to stay indoors for now. And if all we can do is pray out of the depths, well, that’s absolutely fine. 

(My temporary writing place: complete with Elgood’s plum porter!) 

Go sit in your cell...

There’s a saying of a desert father I like which feels appropriate following the Prime Minister’s address to the nation earlier this evening:

“Go, sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.”’

For all of us, the next three weeks at least will be tough. We are all, for the good of others and ourselves to stay at home. For some of us, expecting to be on the list of 1.5 million vulnerable people, we will need to stay at home for at least three months. We wonder where shopping might come from. What will be in a parcel paid for by the government? Will it come? Boris says use food deliveries where possible. Has he seen when the next available slot is? 

 We are living, through no fault of our own, in a holiday let, in the middle of nowhere. I feel very far from the Circuit where I am without appointment. We are meant to be getting our things into storage out of the Old Vicarage. We now cannot. We were meant to be moving in May. That is looking very unlikely. Will we even move for September? There are no answers. Can we go out and collect essential items from the Old Vicarage or will there be a police road block in Tydd St Giles to stop us getting there? We are so grateful we can settle in what is a rather lovely temporary home until June at least. We miss the cats but they are safe. 

I don’t think I’ve ever felt like I was part of history like I felt tonight as we waited by the TV for Boris Johnson to speak. Perhaps it felt like gathering round the wireless in September 1939 to hear Mr Chamberlain tell us we were at war. I’m no Boris fan, but I do feel for him. He looks knackered and the weight of responsibility on him is huge. Life tonight has changed whether we like it or not. I think these measures had to come. The pictures of people on beaches and in tourist areas over the weekend were sheer stupidity. Our friends on Holy Island put out a message this morning telling people to stay away. Even people with second homes there. I saw a huge queue earlier today at McDonalds - people wanting their last happy meal    before Armageddon! 

There is a comfort in knowing we are all in this together. All of us have to face this time and get through it. We can grumble and stress that normal life has stopped or we can make the best of each day. Which returns me to my desert fathers quote: 

“Go, sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.”

 

When life returns to some sort of normality and we emerge outside like George the tortoise used to after hibernation on Blue Peter, we will soon complain life is too fast and too busy. 

Maybe we need to see the next three months at least for most of us as a gift. Yes we can’t see people, but there’s Zoom! I have a meeting using Zoom at 10am in the morning. 

We can ring up that person we told in a Christmas letter we would definitely be in touch with this year. 

We can care for one another. Churches I think in this period will discover a new depth of pastoral care as people look out for each other. I desperately miss being minister of a congregation at this time. I miss having a flock to care for. 

We can read those books we bought ages ago and haven’t had time to read. We can have a project. My book will get written!! The danger is we watch too much rolling news or loll about in our pyjamas all day with no focus. We can use the wealth of resources on line from every denomination for daily prayer and Sunday worship. I intend to write a sermon and service for each Sunday as a discipline, and because I love preparing worship. Make your own list. What can you do with these days you never dreamt you’d have time to do? 

A dear friend wrote to me tonight saying this:

“We are trying to get into a routine to preserve our sanity!  The Morning Prayer, a walk each day, a sing each day, read a new poem a day, keep a book of good things that happen each day.”

I like that last idea! 

“Go, sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.”

Coronavirus is horrible. It’s horrific to see the numbers dying across the world go up every day. Every number is a real person and it’s awful. I don’t believe God causes pain like this but I do believe God is in it with us, and maybe, God gives us this time inside to refocus on what matters, our deepest relationships, our well-being, our faith, and maybe, just maybe, we shall all come out of this time different, with new priorities. Perhaps! 

For now, we sit in our cell, and we see what having to do that (with one period of exercise!) does to us and to our world. 

I took this picture earlier and I think it is an image to hold on to. It is the river Nene just before it goes into the Wash, just north of Sutton Bridge, where we are living until June or even August (!) 

The sun is setting. But there is calm. And a new day will come. And all will be well. 

In the wilderness: a reflection for social distancing

I’ve been in the habit of blogging a sermon on a Sunday if I’ve thought it is worth sharing. But for today, and for the foreseeable future, there is no sermon to write and no church service to lead. We are to live life very differently for the next few months and maybe longer as we distance ourselves from others, and for those of us with underlying health situations (for me asthma and high blood pressure) we are to self isolate, just getting some fresh air each day maybe as long as we aren’t near other people. 

As the country is forced to hibernate some people are not coping with it at all. I heard a story from March, in our Circuit, where an irate shopper in Tescos grabbed a worker there by the throat. He’d presumably been told he couldn’t have more two packets of pasta. I’m hearing terrible stories of disgraceful behaviour like that in other supermarkets, of food banks where food is being stolen, of a pub which after being told to close put a pop up version on the street outside which last night was full of punters, of beaches on the south coast in spring weather full of people, of people just being stupid and irresponsible who say “but I don’t have any symptoms.” 

The more positive side of humanity is coming out in this unprecedented time in our history. Communities looking out for the vulnerable, the NHS soon to be at breaking point served by an amazing selfless workforce, and churches working out how to be church when we cannot be physically together. Some have discovered how to share worship for tomorrow on the internet, others are offering resources to use in our homes at the time we would have been together, either digitally or posting service sheets out to members who haven’t ever done technology or social media. I have really appreciated finding a Circuit whose staff do morning prayer into a webcam and can share it with me on my phone, and a cathedral streaming two of their clergy saying evening prayer from my beloved book of common prayer each night. It’s important in self isolation we find some rhythm of worship and prayer and we find times when we do those things together while apart. 

This is a time of real uncertainty for us all. Normal life has been cancelled. We have been told to stay at home! We are self isolating in holiday accommodation in south Lincolnshire in the Fens. Our rental home has our stuff in it but we are not living there now. On top of all the problems we have had, the owners are trying to sell it and they want us gone as soon as possible. We are living very near the Wash. It is a wonderful place to self isolate - there’s nobody about in these parts on a normal day! But we are here in the wilderness wondering how our questions can be answered. 

If I’m not meant to be shopping, how do we get food? We have no family near and no neighbours. I’ve asked to go on a list of the vulnerable in our Circuit. 

How do we get all our belongings out of the Old Vicarage and into storage when we aren’t meant to be out of where we are staying? 

We were meant to be away on Holy Island for Easter. I don’t think that it is sensible and the Island doesn’t want us there really.

 

We are meant to be moving into a temporary home in May. I can’t see that happening. You can’t move house when you  aren’t meant to move, can you? So I hope and pray we might be able to move in August when I am due to start a new appointment even if social distancing is still enforced and I have to meet my new congregations over the phone! I’m relieved the two Fen holiday places we are using have few bookings now as people cancel their holidays, so we should be able to stay here if we need to. 

Meanwhile it’s hard to keep sane mentally and we’ve only done a few days of this! It’s so easy to just sit and watch endless rolling news. I need to get into a routine and find some light in a dark time. Rylan on Radio 2 today was a real spirit lifter. I’m beginning to see how vital it is going to be to have regular contact with friends in this period. Even if it is only a few minutes messenger chat. Though I’ve discovered Microsoft teams and Zoom so we could see each other as we chat and we could have meetings! 

And what about spiritual survival? I keep thinking about Jesus in the wilderness. He had to be rooted in God through a time of fear and uncertainty. We are being asked to do more than 40 days of this. I need to rediscover urgently my prayer life and I need to use this time to soak myself in God through reading, space and seeing that my questions and things I can’t resolve will sort in time. Prayer is a good place to start... I like these words from Canon Jessica, one of the clergy at Ely Cathedral:

‘Each day, for the last three days, I’ve prayed for half an hour, from noon to 12.30 pm. I’m going to go on doing it, each day, and if you are the praying kind perhaps you might like to as well. The companionship would really help, even when we can’t see each other.

My prayer isn’t being a very impressive kind of prayer. Nothing to live up to! It’s been pretty undisciplined, a bit random even, darting and scudding all over the place, from intensive care wards in Italy, Iran, to our hospitals here, prayer for particular people in particular situations, prayer for this city and its Cathedral, for people facing economic disaster, for the fearful – prayer blown by the wind of different concerns and anxieties and fears.

But as I go on sitting there, watching the changing colour of the clouds and the weather, I steady down as well. The words settle. The light brightens. And I emerge from my half an hour into the rest of the day just a little more calm and courageous than when I started.

On Mothering Sunday, the Church is asking people to do something very simple. At 7 pm, put a lighted candle in your window. Be the light in the darkness of what’s happening. If you aren’t a words sort of person – or even if you are – you might want to do that too, as we will be. It says something about our care for each other – like the waves of applause for medical workers coming from the apartments in Paris, or the singing from balconies in Milan. Like prayer, it joins us in love and to love, while we are alone together.’

And one more thing in this enforced time of separation. It feels like we are living in a very unsure world. But there is certainty among all that feels like it will never be the same again: spring is coming! So I love this poem from our President: 

Nobody said the sun should not rise 

Or the birds must not to sing

Conveyed to the bees

A delay in the spring

Nobody chimed in the ear of the corn

There was no need to sprout

Or told the bright crocus

'No need to come out'

Nobody mentioned to frogs in the pond

Don't bother to spawn

Or told the bird choirs

Be silent at dawn

So, why be downhearted

Although hymns we can't sing 

We may be in trouble

But no one told Spring

I don’t know how things will work out over the next few months. I had plans. Now, we cannot make plans. It’s scary but I need to remember my faith: that after darkness comes light, after sadness comes joy and after dying comes life. This will not last for ever but we have to stay in and be good and find some meaning in each day. God will not forsake us, even if we have to worship a bit differently for a while. 

The Psalm for morning prayer today has an apt verse: Psalm 108, verse 39. The Psalm reminds us that God blesses his people “and again, when they are minished and  brought low: through oppression, through any plague or trouble.” 

Let’s take a day at a time of this mad period, and try to find some good in it. 

Let’s be sensible. I know being indoors until June at the earliest won’t be easy - and even harder for Lis putting up with me being cooped up. But as they say staying in may save us and others. 

And let’s chat and let’s find God together. Our faith is he is in chaos, confusion and even self isolation. And you know what? Even if we need to do some social distancing, his love is closer than ever. 

 

Daily Prayer

An Order for Daily Prayer At Home 

Ideally, this liturgy should be used towards the beginning of the day. 

Begin by finding a comfy chair, be still, know that God is with you just where you are. 

Light a candle if possible near you as a focus, and remind yourself as you prepare to pray that Jesus is the light of the world and that the light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot put it out. 

Pray the Venite, Psalm 95, to enter into God’s presence and enjoy it. 

 

O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.

The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.

O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.

For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. 

God, our Father and our Mother, we are glad to come before you. We offer you our praise, our doubts, our worries, this uncertain time. We know that you care for us intimately and you know how we feel right now. Come to us with your peace. Renew us with your love, call us to be people of hope, even in a place of confusion and uncertainty. Breathe your Holy Spirit into us to renew us out of darkness into the light of what you have planned for us. Help us to trust you. 

We ask for your forgiveness when we forget you are there, when we try and face our problems alone, when our faith weakens because the world feels too tough, when we laugh at what feel like impossibilities, when we see nothing but bad news and we fall into despair. Come, O God, in Jesus, and help us to begin again. 

Here is the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are forgiven. We can hope. We can start again! Thanks be to God.

We read a Psalm, remembering God is in the good and bad bits of life. Any Psalm can be read, Psalm 91 is suggested:

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.

This is the word of the Lord, thanks be to God.

An Old Testament Reading is read. Isaiah 43: 1 - 13 is suggested but any can be used: 

But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I gave Egypt for your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
4 Since you were precious in My sight,
You have been honored,
And I have loved you;
Therefore I will give men for you,
And people for your life.
5 Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your descendants from the east,
And gather you from the west;
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’
Bring My sons from afar,
And My daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 Everyone who is called by My name,
Whom I have created for My glory;
I have formed him, yes, I have made him.”

8 Bring out the blind people who have eyes,
And the deaf who have ears.
9 Let all the nations be gathered together,
And let the people be assembled.
Who among them can declare this,
And show us former things?
Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified;
Or let them hear and say, “It is truth.”
10 “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
That you may know and believe Me,
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
Nor shall there be after Me.
11 I, even I, am the Lord,
And besides Me there is no savior.
12 I have declared and saved,
I have proclaimed,
And there was no foreign god among you;
Therefore you are My witnesses,”
Says the Lord, “that I am God.
13 Indeed before the day was, I am He;
And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand;
I work, and who will reverse it?

This is the word of the Lord, thanks be to God.

The Benedictus, a passage of assurance is shared: 

Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel,  

who has come to his people and set them free.

   He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour,  

born of the house of his servant David.

   Through his holy prophets God promised of old  

to save us from our enemies,

    from the hands of all that hate us,

  To show mercy to our ancestors,  

and to remember his holy covenant.

   This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham: 

to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

  Free to worship him without fear, 

holy and righteous in his sight

    all the days of our life.

  And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, 

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

To give his people knowledge of salvation 

by the forgiveness of all their sins.

   In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, 

and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Luke 1.68–79

Glory to the Father and to the Son

and to the Holy Spirit;

as it was in the beginning is now

and shall be for ever. Amen

A time of quiet reflection - spend ten minutes in silence. Think about:

What God has said to you in the passages you’ve just read. 

What things you have right now to say thank you for. 

What is troubling you today. 

What positive thing can you do to make today a good one.

A time of intercession.

After each bidding, please pray Come, Lord Jesus 

Into this space, my life and the lives of those here with me or who I miss...

Into our country at this difficult time, especially those who are unwell, or lonely or frightened...

Into our government, our Prime Minister, and all those responsible for leading us in this uncertain time...

Into our hospitals and GP surgeries, into places that are trying to help, into communities where there is selfishness and a need to remember everyone matters...

Into the lives of those who will find this day impossible...

Into the broken spirits of those who have been bereaved...

Into our churches, dispersed for now but still one body called to care for all...

Come Lord Jesus, with your peace. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer is shared in whatever form we prefer. 

A sending prayer into the day:

Go with us O God into the joys, opportunities, frustrations and unanswered questions of this day. 

Go with us Lord Jesus, give us your light when we feel afraid today.

Go with us, Holy Spirit, remind us that today is not how it will always be and that we need to hold on. You give us enough to keep going.

The Lord is here! His Spirit with us. We go in peace. Amen. 

 

T

Coronavirus and spirituality

There’s a lovely prayer in the Book of Common Prayer which I’ve just found. I use the Book of Common Prayer for my daily devotions as I love its language, especially the Psalter in the King James Version: 

FROM all evil and mischief; from sin; from the crafts and assaults of the devil; from thy wrath, and from everlasting damnation,
    Good Lord, deliver us.
    From all blindness of heart; from pride, vainglory, and hypocrisy; from envy, hatred, and malice, and all uncharitableness, 
    Good Lord, deliver us.
    From all inordinate and sinful affections; and from all the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil, 
    Good Lord, deliver us.
    From lightning and tempest; from earthquake, fire, and flood; from plague, pestilence, and famine; from battle and murder, and from sudden death, 
    Good Lord, deliver us.
    From all sedition, privy conspiracy, and rebellion; from all false doctrine, heresy, and schism; from hardness of heart, and contempt of thy Word and Commandment, 
    Good Lord, deliver us.
    By the mystery of thy holy Incarnation; by thy holy Nativity and Circumcision; by thy Baptism, Fasting, and Temptation, 
    Good Lord, deliver us.
    By thine Agony and Bloody Sweat; by thy Cross and Passion; by thy precious Death and Burial; by thy glorious Resurrection and Ascension, and by the Coming of the Holy Ghost, 
    Good Lord, deliver us.
    In all time of our tribulation; in all time of our prosperity; in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment, 
    Good Lord, deliver us.

We are living in uncertain times as this coronavirus spreads across the world. We need delivering from pestilence! But also from selfishness. The picture above is from a large Morrison’s supermarket yesterday. There wasn’t a  toilet roll in site nor any hand sanitiser or wipes or pasta and wine is being bought in vast amounts of bottles. I said in my sermon on Sunday we are living in an I society where I know my rights. I have a right to 100 toilet rolls and loads of sanitiser and if I’m over 70 and forced to stay in soon I’ll just get pissed and wake up when it’s over. There was that story in Australia of a man who took out a knife on the woman in the supermarket who dared to take the last toilet roll! And then in America there are queues for guns...

It’s so bad we may need to bring back Izal. My Granny Smith had Izal. It took your bum weeks to recover after being wiped with that stuff. Or, we will soon be using newspaper. Why are people stockpiling loo roll? Just pure panic and greed...

It is being suggested this coronavirus crisis is the worst to hit this country since World War Two. It also feels like, as it hasn’t affected us yet really, as we watch the news, that we are watching a horror film. It’s like 2001 when 24 hour news was a new thing and we watched the twin towers come down in New York after an indescribable terrorist attacks. When we knew it was real, we understood the world would now be different. We are now being told this virus even when it is over, will effect this country, economically, politically health wise and relationally, for many years to come. 

Over the last 24 hours we’ve seen new advice from the government. The Prime Minister looks shellshocked. He needs to comb his hair before addressing us! How on earth have we got to the state we are in with Boris leading us? Dear God! 70 year olds and over are being told they will soon need to stay indoors even if they are fit and well. We worked out in our Circuit yesterday that will leave only a handful of people and preachers to keep services goIng, but it is looking highly unlikely we will be meeting for worship until further notice. 

Over the last few days we’ve had things  cancelled; a couple’s diamond wedding party on Saturday is now off; even one to one meetings are not sensible. The whole of life is disrupted. I’m trying to come to terms with the fact that now I’m meant to be building myself up by doIng more, I may well have taken my last service in the Fens Circuit yesterday, that my informal farewell on May 3 will probably be off; and that maybe even my first service in a new Circuit in September might be off. Will we even move at all?  We have to ring a hospital in a bit to see if an outpatients appointment is cancelled. The whole of life is disrupted. But there is little choice but to accept that disruption. I’ll come back to that later.

The toilet roll selfishness is one picture of what is going on at the moment, but there is another one. We are seeing people being kind. An example of this is this notice I read yesterday:

 “Coronavirus notice: We are expecting many households in our parish to be self-isolating in the coming weeks, either as a result of illness or as a precautionary measure following official government advice.

In preparation for this we will be coordinating a volunteer group of residents who can offer support to persons/households potentially requiring it during this period. 'Support' here could mean delivering shopping, lending a book or simply having someone to talk to over the phone.”

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have put out a very helpful statement on line which includes this paragraph:

“We can find hope and courage in the goodly and wholesome spirit that is in so many ways common to all human beings, whether they are people of Faith or None. We must distinguish between a healthy fear – the beginning of wisdom, which prompts us to follow advice, and to care for those at risk - and unhealthy fear which is driven by pride, leading us to act, selfishly, doing harm to ourselves and others.” We need to be aware of those we shut ourselves away from like this cat in a pub desperate to get in...

Dame Esther Rantzen was on a radio programme yesterday talking about elderly lonelIness should social distancing have to last a long time. She said the neighbourliness we are seeing now needs be the norm, even when we haven’t got a crisis. It is sad Britain does a blitz spirit in a crisis 

but when life returns to normal we go back to our me first ways. It’s like when the church I lay worked in in Markyate in Hertfordshire had their sanctuary decorated. We had to worship for several weeks in the hall and we all sat together. It was great! But when we went back into church we again sat as far apart from each other as we could! 

We all have to face this crisis isn’t going to be over any time soon. For now, I’m limiting social contact to necessary meetings, trips for food shopping and fresh air. We await a decision from the Church about worship on Sunday. As I write the news channel says the C of E has suspended all public worship I now doubt any services will happen in my own denomination. 

I feel today especially for pubs, restaurants, theatres and other places who haven’t been told to close but from whom people will now stay away. I feel today for teachers in schools for now keeping going. 

How do we “be Church” when we can’t go to church? Well, we need to look out for one another. Use the phone and social media. Keep in touch. Provide services for Sunday. I’ve had several really kind messages about my blog over the last week that my ministry in this way really helps people. If so, I’ll keep writing through this period however long it lasts if my writing encourages you. For our own spirituality, read those books you’ve not had time to read, have quiet times, for me, get that book written. Use the Psalms every day. Practice Lectio Divina, read a bible passage slowly, what is it saying to you the moment you read it? 

 

For ourselves, let’s take a day at a time. Let’s keep well, enjoy the people we are with, do things we’ve not usually time to do. Let’s be because we cannot do... even watching those box sets collecting dust on the shelves! I’ve threatened my wife with the complete One Foot In The Grave this morning! What would Victor Meldrew make of coronavirus?

MIND has put out a really useful article which I gladly share: 

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/coronavirus-and-your-wellbeing/

But while we care for ourselves, let’s remember others... the President of the Methodist Conference released this prayer on Sunday. Maybe Barbara sums up how we get through the next few months, whatever Boris tells us... 

 We are not people of fear

We are people of courage

We are not people who protect our own safety

We are people who protect our neighbours’ safety 

We are not people of greed

We are people of generosity.

We are your people God

Giving and loving

Wherever we are

Whatever it costs

For as long as it takes

Wherever you call us.