March 23^rd has been a significant day across this country.  It marks one year since our first lockdown in the early days of the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020.  We had no concept of what this would involve: that we would be thrown into the most challenging national and international emergency since the 1940s.  Most of us had never heard of Zoom.  We had never owned a face mask.  We had to stop ourselves from extending a hand to shake, and we couldn’t quite believe that hugs were forbidden.  I remember taking the dog out one sunny morning in that week, enjoying the strengthening sunshine and the gentle bleating of skipping lambs.  It seemed impossible to believe that the world could be entering such a looming disaster on a perfect spring morning.

In many ways, nature was a saving grace.  As the population entered lockdown, the world became a quieter place.  Car journeys were forbidden unless absolutely necessary.  Air travel became impossible.  The natural world thrived as the human world checked and stumbled.  And because we couldn’t leave our own environs, we looked more closely at what we had around us, and became hungry for the inspirational viewing of the natural world which we could access on our televisions.

The human cost of the pandemic quickly started to take its toll.  As thousands of people became ill, the pressure on our hospitals, medical resources and care homes became unbearable. We wanted to show our support for all carers, and took to clapping on our doorsteps every Thursday at 6 pm as a public show of appreciation. Access to loved ones who were dying in hospital became impossible.  The wonderful NHS staff had to take the place of loving relatives at the bedside – a role which they fulfilled with tender compassion.  The disappointment of cancelled family celebrations became more poignantly replaced by heartrendingly sad funerals with limited numbers of mourners in attendance.

Church was closed for the first time in over 800 years.  Easter 2020 was not exactly cancelled because we still wanted to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Indeed our belief in the power of life over death had never seemed more relevant to us.  But at the beginning of the pandemic, we hadn’t discovered all the different ways of being church or of developing our spiritual resources to accompany us through the dark times.  One year on, we have developed online skills, writing blogs for our website, leading live-streamed worship, holding Zoom discussion groups, accessing training days and holding meetings remotely. We have adapted our services in church to promote high standards of health and safety for all our worshippers.

What else have we learnt in the past year?  On a personal level, I have learnt to take nothing for granted and to view each day and each person as a gift from God.  At a community level we have become more supportive of each other, actively seeking ways in which we can help our neighbours, and developing our links with other local organisations where possible.  On a national level, we have discovered that some of our most essential workers are shockingly underpaid, and prior to the pandemic they were extraordinarily undervalued.  And internationally, we have realised that the world is a small place, and until everyone is vaccinated and protected from this disease, no one is safe.

Spiritually, we have learnt the importance of mental well-being, and for those who continue to seek a closer walk with God, we have tried to learn to put greater trust in God who is alongside us every step of the Way.

Sarah Bourne, Chaplain for the Arts – 24^th March 2021      sarahbourne@banburystmary.org.uk