Day Ten of Being Closed - This little light

So how do we see the world around us just now. The news reports are filled with shots of empty city streets and hospital beds. This is our new reality and it causes anxiety and fear. There are some balancing stories of hope but the news teams don't seem to report so quickly the number of people who recover due to the dramatic dedication of the wonderful health service staff. Obviously we need a coherent message that will keep us indoors and make us take this whole thing seriously. But perhaps we need a bit more hope that the light is still shining in the darkness.

Today two things happened to lift the gloom for me. Two small insignificant stories that sum up the other side of the equation.

The first concerns someone who is deeply involved in what we call pastoral support which basically means looking after people. This lovely lady, over the course of the last two weeks, has taken on the shopping for at six elderly people. We are trying to encourage her to spread the load and we will make sure that this burden does not grow too great. Despite all her trips to the supermarkets, standing in many queues and collecting many different receipts, there was something that she hadn't been able to find for her own family - Crunchy Nut Cornflakes. Amongst the odd items like milk powder and yeast the shelves contained none of this essential cereal. Nerve mind there would be plenty of time to look again. They were bound to reappear. Until late this evening a box did appear on her doorstep. Left with a small note that said to enjoy them. It says in Isaiah 58 that when we spend ourselves for other then we will be blessed. And this was certainly a sign that this immutable law of God's universe is still in force.

Then this evening I was able to be part of what we call Friday Fridge an event that has happened for thirteen years, which now supports those on the margins of society by giving them a place where they can come and receive some food and company late on a Friday evening. In the present situation we have needed to ask for our Bishop's permission to carry out any ministry from our church buildings. With this permission in place we have altered this event so that it just provides a takeaway service of food and hot drinks with extra detailed consideration of how to minimise the possibility of any contagion. So our guests lined up at 2 metre intervals to receive a cheese toasty and a bacon butty along with a couple of bags of assorted goodies donated to us from food outlets. We served nine people carefully and without rushing them away. It may not look like much but the light is still shining and darkness has not overcome it.