Dear all,
This coming Sunday, February 28th, will be our 111th Church Anniversary. Ordinarily we would expect a large(ish) congregation for the service itself followed by a splendid ‘bring & share’ lunch for everyone. With Covid restrictions in place in won’t be like that this year. And it reminds us that these past 12 months have seen us denied many opportunities to celebrate special occasions in life. Birthdays have come and gone (mine is coming up soon by the way). Whilst we not all wish to be reminded just how old we are, for those with a special, one-off, never to be repeated birthday – e.g., one with a ‘naught’ on the end – it must have been very disappointing. Similarly, those celebrating notable wedding anniversaries. For those who were due to be married – we have one couple who have had to postpone their wedding date 3 times! – it has been a frustrating year. And then more poignantly, for the families of those whose loved ones have died during the year, being denied the possibility of organising the funeral, the thanksgiving service that would have been appropriate. Much loved and highly respected members of the church and community for whom a full church would have been a fitting tribute but only a handful of family and close friends being able to attend. Then there are those waiting patiently to be baptized. And of course, we were denied the opportunity to have our usual ‘Christmas’ programme of events. Perhaps, just maybe we will be able to hold Holy Week and Easter services in the church with a congregation actually present…It is a rather sobering thought that even though during two World Wars the Church never closed its doors, for over half of this last year we have been denied the opportunity to gather together for worship as a congregation. But while the building has been closed we have been able to ensure that every Sunday an act of worship has been ‘broadcast’ in the name of the Church and I am grateful to those who have used their particular talents to make this possible…And also a big thank you to everyone involved in the wider life of the church who have ensured that we have been enabled to ‘stay together’ throughout this year…The Suburb was a very different place 111 years ago: indeed, it was only just beginning to be built, a green field site slowly but surely being developed into what it is today. The world was a very different place 111 year ago as well. Much of what we take for granted had not even been dreamt of all those years ago. We have experienced a century of change; increasingly rapid change. The industrial revolution of the C19 – although immense in its own time – has been dwarfed by the scale of the technological revolution that we are continuing to live through and benefit from. But then came Covid, and it is as if the brakes were slammed on hard. Yet in these last 12 months the scientific community has come together to create vaccines that hold out the prospect of at least controlling the spread of the virus and the effect of its most ‘critical’ symptoms. And who knows, maybe the ‘longer term’ effect of this enforced ‘pause for thought’ might just result in a reappraisal of priorities at every level of society, including at the level of the local church. Happy 111th Birthday to the Free Church, Hampstead Garden Suburb…