Coronavirus Reflections #13

This Sunday marks 1/4 of the year in lockdown, meeting on Zoom. We have been blessed to have preachers each week and during the week and the church has enjoyed being able to see one another. I wonder though what lessons we have learned individually and as a church. Will there be any difference when we meet together again.

This has been quite an eventful week. Yesterday churches were allowed to be opened again for private prayer. This week it was announced that single people could form a bubble with another person or family. This would mean that they could spend the night together and be closer than the 2m distancing. I formed a bubble yesterday with my parents. It was a great joy to have social contact without having to dance around one another maintaining our distance, to go into their home again and share a meal together.

It's also nice that we can mix in groups of up to 6 from mixed households in each others gardens.

There are still around 200 people dieing each day with the virus so all the other distancing rules are in place. Secondary schools will be opening for year 10 next week and non-essential shops. The barriers are gradually being lowered but it certainly is not a return to normal.

We held a church meeting on zoom this week also. The government has issued some guidance to help churches plan for when they can open - potentially in July. Distancing, hand hygiene and reducing potential for cross-infection are the key rulings to apply.

There is ongoing high levels of anxiety in society and the emotional impact of fear and social isolation. I have been seeing this more and more in pain presentations.

Last Sunday we had a visitor on Zoom who knew our preacher. He runs an orphanage in India so it was interesting to hear from him. In the afternoon we had a talk about George Muller and the amazing work that he was enabled to do in preaching and setting up orphanages.


It's strange really, that now we have been in lockdown for so long I had got into a good routine day to day. Moving on to another phase means getting used to a new routine and potentially there will be more and more changes as the weeks go on - returning to church and work. Getting used to social contact again and the freedom to go out and about yet keeping safe will be nice but challenging.