Cloudy but no rain or wind today, with the promise of warmer weather to come. A great relief for me as when it's warm my stiff back muscles will warm up more readily. I learned from Clare that St John's Parish Church would be open for prayer from ten until noon today, so I walked down there to thank God that it was possible for the place to be open again.
Before I entered I put on my mask, as I feel obliged to in any enclosed space. I was delighted to see Emma and Benedict, half the parish clergy team keeping vigil there and was welcomed with smiles. So good to see priests at their proper job - praying and welcoming other into God's house. Normally there are too many pressures on clergy time for something as simple yet essential as this to be seen to happen. But as the 'new normal' evolves, who knows how things will develop?
I walked back via St Catherine's, and met Gareth, one of the church's pioneer team of gardeners that has transformed the grounds, both with the highly productive fruit and vegetable plot, but also with an attractive and colourful planting of suitable flowers and bushes all along the railings facing on to King's Road. Talk about neighbourhood uplift! It was good to see him again after five months.
Our GP surgery, nearly opposite the church, has acquired a canopy along the side of the building where people can queue before admission, as there's very little interior waiting room space to make social distancing possible. You mustn't turn up too long before your appointment, especially if it's cold and wet.
After lunch I took another walk around Llandaff and Pontcanna Fields. In one remote corner, two young women, walking two dogs, had stopped to pick up litter. A couple of days ago when out with the dogs they had seen a group of teenagers with bicycles turn up with bags full of drinks to party in seclusion. Next day they saw that a terrible mess had been left, and had now returned with bags to clear it up. I congratulated and thanked them. At the moment, my bad back hinders me from doing likewise, and these days I have to plan to take protective equipment with me rather than pick up discarded cans and bottles to take to the nearest bin spontaneously the way I used to. But I will get around to it again.
On several occasions recently I had seen a parent with a young child heading across the park with a plastic bag and one of those long reach pincers aiming to collect rubbish. And there are older folk as well. The Council employs a man who works early mornings, collecting as much dispersed rubbish as he can and leaving near the usually overflowing rubbish bins, prior to collection. Clare sees him when she is out for her early walk and has learned that his name is Richard. It's good to think that there may be even more people these days willing to clear up the mess, than people who don't care and make the mess.
Our Team Vicar Emma has sent out an invitation to join a Zoom conference next Wednesday about what will happen to on-line services once conventional public worship resumes, as the Parish's on-line has been well received and reached (hopefully) a wider audience than church based services. It will be an interesting discussion, and essentially it's going to be about outreach. I just hope it can be conceived and presented to a credible and consistent high standard.
What's been achieved over months of services during lock-down using (I suppose) mobile phones and on-line editing suites is remarkable and creative, especially given that it's been a case of learning by doing throughout. With a little extra thought and slightly better equipment, available at fairly reasonable prices, more can be done in a credible and attractive way, and this will bring joy to those who remain housebound and unable to re-enter public worship.
No comments:
Post a Comment