Coronavirus Ad Clerum 22nd April 2020 Our life beyond… “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Rev 21:3-4) Sometimes it is helpful to try and look at things from the finish rather than the start line. In the midst of this second phase of ‘lockdown’, many of the conversations have begun to focus more on what life will look like ‘afterwards’. It is hard for us to imagine. Those in leadership whether in government, healthcare or church are rightly cautious about exit strategies and the shape of our lives to come after this phase. As Christians we are taught to live as those whose citizenship is in heaven; where one day things will look very different from now and suffering, pain and death will be no more. Yesterday, the church remembered with thanksgiving St Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury. He lived and died nearly a thousand years ago and knew the intensity of suffering in his own life and the complexities of leadership in his own day. As we seek to hold before us the vision of the heavenly city, may we find comfort in this prayer of St Anselm as we continue to pray for those in our care and all for whom we are concerned in these days. God of love, whose compassion never fails; We bring before thee the troubles and perils of peoples and nations, The sighing of prisoners and captives, the sorrows of the bereaved, The necessities of strangers, The helplessness of the weak, The despondency of the weary, The failing powers of the aged, O Lord, Draw near to each; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. (Anselm 1033 – 1109) Our story: Resources for reflection In their work on ‘trauma and congregations’ Christopher Southgate and others have reminded us that ‘We make sense of things by being able to integrate the experience into an overarching story. But it is much too soon to assemble a coherent narrative out of all this. Even the process of meaningfully gathering together to lament what has been lost is very hard. The trauma is unfolding and there are many losses yet unrevealed.’ For this reason, the bishop’s senior staff team is working on a resource for reflection for use individually and corporately in the weeks and months to come. There is also merit in having some sort of tool for reflection more immediately and you may well have found a method for that within your own support networks. Many already use the Ignatian ‘Examen’ as a regular part of their spiritual life. If you would like more information about that please go to: https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-examen/ In addition here are some questions you may find helpful to use, recording your own private responses and perhaps, if helpful, sharing them with a friend or colleague as a way of beginning to process these unusual times in which we are living and ministering. Questions to ponder: 1. What do I notice the loss of, at this time? Pause and remember with sorrow and lament. 2. Where do I sense God at work in the midst of my activities? Pause and receive God’s love. 3. Who is helping me in these days and who am I helping? Pause and invite God’s blessing upon the names that come to mind. 4. How will I keep moving forward into the future? Pause and commit your journey to Christ through today and the days ahead. Please also be reminded that there is support more generally available to you here: (sheffield.anglican.org/covid-19-mental-health-and-wellbeing). Even if you would ordinarily consider yourself a ‘coper’ with plenty of resources in the face of adversity, please do be gentle with yourself recognising that even experts in the field of trauma are finding themselves disorientated at this time. There are no experts on how to live and work through a global pandemic! Our people We continue to be so grateful for the work going on across the diocese and the way in which our people are rising to the challenges of the day. Here are a few updates on some changes in personnel: Elaine Frecknall, our Diocesan HR Manager leaves the diocesan staff on 30 April. Elaine has been a staff member since 2015 but also advised in a different capacity for many years before that – we give thanks to God for her work in HR through the years and ask God’s blessing on her future. Katie Bell begins as full time Diocesan Secretary on Monday 27th April – please pray for her and her family. We are so thankful for Andy Brookes’ service as interim in this role; he has served us so well. There will be a week’s handover period to ensure continuity. Our buildings Cathedrals & Church Buildings Division have issued a new guidance document advising parishes on caring for closed church buildings and churchyards in the light of the government’s lockdown period. View the document here. Please be aware of the following points in particular: • The revised document (version 3) is only intended to cover the three-week period of the extended lockdown – the CCBD will revise its advice in the light of the government’s review and announcement expected on the 7th May. • If people have read a previous version of the document, page 1 helpfully summarises what has changed in this version (and in version 2). • Pages 9-12 contain some useful financial guidance including information about funding that may be available to churches, depending on their circumstances. Parish Resources have also issued some helpful guidance in this regard, which can be found at https://www.parishresources.org.uk/coronavirus/ • Our own DAC staff have been furloughed during this current period of lockdown, and we are consequently restricting our response to only considering emergency works requiring Chancellor’s Interim Orders. In such cases, parishes should contact their archdeacon in the first instance, who is in regular contact with the DAC Chair and Registrar. Our Cathedral The Dean, the Very Reverend Peter Bradley, is beginning a series of short lectures on art, theology, and faith called "Beauty will save the world" drawing on the work of Brian Zahnd, and in conversation with contemporary artists. Peter explains, "This period of extended waiting is a good time to rediscover the beauty of the Gospels, and the joy of faith. My hope is that these short lectures will help us to renew our joy in God." These weekly lectures can be accessed on the Cathedral website, beginning on Saturday 25th April. Our Worship Following the warm response to the worship opportunities offered during Holy Week, we are working on more resources for the coming weeks. These will be available shortly along with more information about ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ in the period between Ascension and Pentecost. Tomorrow a short service of morning prayer will be led by Bishop Pete from his chapel at Bishopscroft at 8am. This will be live on the Diocese of Sheffield Facebook Page and all are welcome. As we continue to learn much about what it is to be the church in these days, you may find this free resource helpful, offering a set of essays exploring online church: https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/handle/1969.1/187891 Looking ahead: We are creating an exciting new resource in partnership with the Diocese of Winchester exploring generosity and giving during the month of June. There will be a daily podcast and written reflection for individuals and a range of digital content for use within weekly services. These include short films, digital sermons, online service plans, and a range of other content to choose from. During this time of significant financial challenge where traditional income streams have either reduced significantly or dried-up completely, we believe Generous June is ideally placed to help your church encourage generous giving. We would love you to sign-up to receive more information and you can do this by visiting www.generousjune.co.uk Our God… is a God of good news – we commend to you a new report just out called ‘Time to Sow in the North’ building on the previous ‘Time to Sow’ report from London Diocese. Sharing the good news of growing churches in the North, the research includes some churches from our own diocese; it is well worth a read. You can view it as a PDF here. Do remember that you can contact us at [email protected] at any time. It is checked very regularly, and matters are brought to the CRT meetings where discussion is necessary. This is both a quick way to ask for advice or check issues and to commend useful resources and share helpful stories and situations. Please be assured of our continued prayer for you all, every blessing with every blessing Canon Sophie Jelley Bishop-designate of Doncaster The Rt Revd Dr Pete Wilcox Bishop of Sheffield .