Re-opening horizons

Thank goodness, no wind today, but still unseasonably cold. My daily Morning Prayer video upload went without hitch and on time. There were eleven of us for the Eucharist at Saint Catherine's. It was celebrated by Archbishop Rowan, who now lives in the parish in retirement. It may be the first time he's done this since he and his wife Jane arrived last summer. I was charged with locking up afterwards, as Clive who normally opens and shuts was leaving immediately after the service for a funeral in the Cathedral. 

I collected this week's organic veg bag before sharing in cooking lunch. I went to bed too late last night and dozed off for an hour afterwards. Then Ashley rang, and I went out to meet him for a chat while he waited an hour for his second jab appointment. We had to walk around the streets, as no place is open where one can sit and have a drink. There will be outdoor places soon, but in such cold weather it's just too cold, even to sit on a park bench with a take-away drink.

It's good to note that covid hospital cases are still diminishing, likewise the general infection rate. As a result it means that next week's planned reopening of shops can go ahead, and likewise cross border travel between Wales and England. I was pleased to learn this afternoon that discussion about reopening Saint John's for worship is now taking place. It's stayed closed longer than the other two as it's been more of a challenge to meet the covid risk assessment scrutiny for places of worship, requiring a team of people to prepare and clean up and welcomers who will check in worshippers and take their contact details for track and trace purposes. 

The average age of the regulars and their aversion to risk taking may have something to do with this, but now that all who can be safely vaccinated in the higher age range has had at least their first jab, confidence is returning. Reopening is complicated by the use made of St John's for live streaming a Sunday Eucharist. There's no reason why regular services with a congregation shouldn't be live streamed, with a little extra equipment and someone willing to operate it as part of their devotions at church, but this requires thinking through if it's to be sustainable.

For some on-line worship has been invaluable in the crisis of church closure, for others unable to attend church because they are housebound it's been a new and unexpected blessing. And, it seems there are even more others who aren't church attenders, but they have come across services on line and started watching and joining on-line discussions and forums. How this will bear fruit once people aren't subjected to social restrictions and have more choices about what to do with their time, remains to be seen. I believe that in the long term, having an on-line service for the housebound is worthwhile doing long term. The question is whether this should be done by every parish all the time, or should grouped parishes in the new Ministry Areas agree a rotation of on-line services from different churches. Maybe a Ministry Area could invest in high quality kit and train teams of people willing to make local broadcast worship their contribution to the life and outreach of the church. Now we've begun to see what works and what's valuable to people, a fresh exploration of this issue will be possible.