The Coronavirus Pandemic & Its Effects On Our Lives
A Pastoral Letter from the Parish Priest
Letter 7 – 26 April 2020
Third Sunday after Easter 2020
My dearest Friends in the Lord,
Here I am again with my weekly Pastoral Letter since the lockdown! We continue to follow the government’s guidelines to Stay at home, Protect the NHS and Save lives!
As I write this letter, it is Thursday late afternoon, the number of Covid19 deaths in NHS hospitals has risen to 18,700! We would, or could, never have thought we would be where we are today five weeks ago! It is as if we have had a head-on collision and we are still stunned and under shock! And the news from the rest of the world is hardly reassuring!
What shall we do? More gardening? More scrabble? More sudoku? More cleaning? More TV? More reading? May I also advise you a daily bit of prayer to your daily lockdown life. Do use the ‘Online Church’ resources available on this website.
Most schools are engaging their students, God bless them, with online studies. And the supermarkets, post office (God bless you postwomen and men), pharmacies etc. are working. Let us remember them also as we remember the NHS workers. They all keep the essential services going and a give us a semblance of normal life.
There are hundreds and thousands of volunteers and good neighbours helping and caring for those who live on their own or self-isolating. God bless them all!
Another positive development of the pandemic is that our dear old earth, the planet, is, we are told, showing signs of healing. Pollution has been reduced in the cities. The earth seems to be healing itself.
As I have told you before, I daily celebrate a private Eucharist with my wife Alida as an offering of cosmic communion in Jesus Christ, praying for the nation, for the world and for our Parish and above all, praying for you, for your families and dear ones.
Please see our online church page for your prayer and worship resources. Do select what suits your need.
This Sunday there will be a short live Eucharist on ‘zoom’ at 10.30 am from my study. Those of you who are in the Parish database will be invited to join the service. Hopefully it will go without a hitch; if not, I trust you will understand! We are trying to learn the ropes of being an online community in a virtual world!
I very kindly request the Churchwardens to pass on this information to the members of their village Church communities and anyone else who might request the same.
As I said before, although public worship is suspended, do remember that we are still Church. We try to do what we can, through prayer, through phoning those isolated at home for a chat, and being good neighbours and running errands where possible. Jesus taught us to love God with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves. We will continue to do this. We will also be people of Faith not Fear. We may not be able to gather in body, but we can gather in Spirit. Please stay safe.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and always.
With my love, prayer and blessings to you all,
Father Sebastian