PARISH LIFE M Agazine

PARISH LIFE M agazine JUNE 2020 50p 2 Reflections from Lowther Park I read two differing articles recently about how use of technology has transformed the way we communicate, which can be seen as either a blessing or a curse. The first was inChurch Times by a Residentiary Canon of Winchester Cathedral under the heading “Like it or not, online services are here to stay”. The writer argues that growing familiarity with technology such as Zoom, Skype and Facebook Live, with their diverse offering of songs, chatting prayer requests, reflections and instant news sharing have turned “Sunday gatherings normally hidden in buildings into easily accessible church sample packs”. Church has suddenly become extremely competitive– by using technology, you can access your own church, neighbouring churches, churches elsewhere in the country, even anywhere in the world. Consumers i.e. congregations now have an inexhaustible stock of resources from which to select whereby they can experience a broad width of liturgical practice and relational engagement as never before - and they don’t even need to leave the comfort of their house to do so but can watch while breakfasting or even still in their pyjamas. And they also have greater control – they don’t need to turn a deaf ear to the sermon, just mute the speaker at the appropriate time! He goes on to argue that “the joyous bounce back to church after lockdown is eased is unlikely to last - those who have found God in digital church may prefer to keep him that way which means churches will need to find creative new ways of combining the physical with the virtual.” And he suggests it’s not beyond credibility that in the future we may be introducing our services with the words “and for those of you watching at home…..” 3 The second was a post-Easter letter from Bishop James to clergy entitled “Human Contact”. While not decrying the benefits offered by modern technology, alarm bells began to ring for James when hearing suggestions that this could herald a bright new future “in which almost everything is done digitally as we stay at home and let our computers take the strain”. No more need for visits or meetings, no risk of spreading germs by face to face contact, no more threat to the environment. But alarm bells in particular that this ignores the most fundamental feature of being human: relationships. We are all made‘ in the image of God’; God is relational and the whole of the Bible is about relationships of one sort or another. As a Church, face to face contact and physical presence remain central to our mission and ministry. Like many, James has taken part in a huge number of conversations by phone, Zoom and Whatsapp over the past few weeks but says one thing in particular has struck him– an overwhelming longing for the time when we can ‘re-connect’, not just on some mechanical device, but in person. Whilst conceding that broadcast worship and live-streamed services are much better than nothing, James concludes that“ they are not the same as gathering together round the Lord’s table for Communion. Waving at parents, children, grand-children and friends on a screen is great: but it can’t compare with giving them a physical hug”. I wonder – where do you stand on these two contrasting viewpoints? I know where I stand. In the space of 48 hours either side of drafting these thoughts, I chatted to Norman exercising around the perimeter of his garden; visited Mori to collect her freewill envelopes and admire the 1,500 piece jigsaw she is embarked on in her conservatory; spoke to Eleanor heading into town to collect her prescription; caught up with Rachel and Chris taking a break from potting plants by enjoying coffee and cake on their driveway; took the newspapers to Lilian and Tommy and had a quick natter to them; enjoyed a brief catch up with Michael on his daily walk; saw 4 Ian shopping at Morrisons; took some stuff to Dot’s where John and Ann had also called and we were able to talk together; and even had a catch up with staff at Hayes and Parkinson when taking some cheques in.In all cases, I hasten to add, observing social distancing rules! Whilst it is undoubtedly great to “see” so many on Sunday – modern technology really does have its place - how much more satisfying it was to meet and chat to all these people face to face, albeit briefly Like Bishop James (and I am sure many of you too) I eagerly await the day when we can actually meet, and not just talk, together again. Every blessing Ashley 5 Heartache and Hope Sermon on VE Day The end of every war is cause for gratitude. Though we live many years after the end of the Second World War, we benefit from its end and we acknowledge that this weekend. It is right for us to be grateful to those who gave so much for this victory, just as it was right, after over 5 long years of war, for there to be that public expression of joy 75 years ago. People were not just rejoicing at the end of the war: they looked forward to a new era, not merely turning back the clock to the pre-war situation but to something different. I don’t know if our Micah reading was used then, but it would have been very fitting: In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and people will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war any more. Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken. Micah 4.1-4 The NHS, the welfare state, the massive house building programme that followed, the creation of the UN (however imperfectly it may operate), the new relationships that developed across the European nations (again far from perfect – but for the first time in history there has been 75 years without any major conflict between them) all owe much to the hopes and 6 aspirations at the end of the war. That is not the whole story. War is a messy business. It inevitably brings heartache. Joy at the end of end of war is never undiluted. My godmother, who served in the WAAF, lived another 70 years but the scars of her brother’s death in the war never left her. The poignancy of Unmentioned in Despatches says something very important. Unmentioned in Despatches Some of them never come home to fanfares, they dump their kit-bags down at the door, kiss their wives and let their children wrestle them down to the kitchen floor, switch the telly on, pour out a whiskey, search for the local football score. Some of them skip the quayside welcome, dodge the bunting and cannonade, make their landfall in silent harbours, nod to the coastguard, but evade the searchlight of public scrutiny like those engaged in the smuggling trade. Some of them land at lonely airfields far removed from the celebration, hang their flying gear in a locker, cadge a lift to the railway station, make for home and take for granted the short-lived thanks of a grateful nation. Some of them miss the royal salute, the victory parade along the Mall, the fly-past, the ships in formation passing the cheering crowds on the harbour wall. Remembered only by friends and relatives, ……some of them never come home at all. Poet: Peter Wyton 7 We might add also the recognition that while there are times when war is the only option, those we fight are also God’s children, our brothers and sisters. There is grief for them as well as for our own. It seems to me that our current experience of Covid 19 means that many of us resonate more with this VE anniversary today than we would otherwise have done. In the middle of this pandemic our two readings have a particular pertinence. Like those before VE Day, we long for a time when the threat posed will be ended and we can once more be relaxed in the company of others; when we can meet safely with family and friends again. When that time comes there will be great joy and relief. But there will also be poignancy – life will not be the same as before, there will be no simple return to life just as it was in February. Some people will be missing, others will be scarred, jobs will have gone, lives will have been changed dramatically. We will all have a ‘new normal’ to discover and explore: if this is to be linked with Micah it must include the challenge of addressing the inequalities within our own country (there is clear evidence that the death rates and general impact from Covid 19 are significantly higher in the poorest areas of our society).

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