Dear Friends,
Tomorrow evening (Thursday) for the first time in a long time we will not be invited to stand on our doorsteps at 8pm to ‘clap for our carers’. It has been decided that this initiative has served its purpose and should be discontinued. It was a marvellous idea, and for those of us who took part, on occasions very emotional, especially when the pandemic was at its peak and our local Health Service personnel were being stretched to the very limit of their capacity and their ability. And not just hospital clinical staff, but also all the ancillary staff; the hitherto forgotten care home staff; and all others who kept on working, taking risks on our behalf so that life for us was as comfortable as it could be. I know that numbers of you have had family members working on the ‘front-line’. It would have been (and still is) an anxious time for them and you. Others of us have known neighbours and friends in similar circumstances and our hearts go out to them as well. The real test for us as a society going forward will be just how much we will continue to value the otherwise often unheralded contribution to the health and well-being of the nation made by such folk as a matter of routine. Please, even if we are not clapping on Thursday, perhaps we can pause and say a prayer, quietly thanking God for the sacrifices made by so many on our behalf…
…But this week has also reminded us that there is a world beyond Covid-19. George Floyd is now known to all of us. His last words, ‘I can’t breathe’ have been burned into our psyche. Another victim of seemingly racially motivated police brutality in the US. If nothing else, this shocking episode serves to make us realise we cannot ignore for a moment the injustices that continue to perpetrated throughout our world. It is all too easy, at times like this, to turn in on ourselves, shutting our eyes, our ears, our minds and our hearts to what is happening in places like Yemen, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Ukraine, Hong Kong, Afghanistan, the Palestinian Territories, other places too. While many thousands are dying from the effects of the virus – and we mourn everyone – so too, many continue to die; casualties of war, terrorism, acts of violence, famine, & of other diseases; innocent victims of conflict – physical, political, economic, cultural, religious. We cannot afford to lose sight of the bigger picture. ‘Black Lives Matter’, ‘Every Life Matters’…
…Anyway, I hope all of us are continuing to stay safe and to keep well; continuing to follow the advice and guidance we are given – because that is the one proper way to acknowledge with gratitude those who continue to care for us and our loved ones – and let us continue to sustain one another by praying for one another; entrusting each and everyone of us to God’s safe keeping…Best wishes…
Ian Tutton