Peace in the plague

Further to my last post, I wonder whether the bishops and archbishops had seen this before they sent out their instructions. It might have given them pause. It comes from Facebook and I have no reason to believe it's not genuine.

'A friend posted this and I felt it is worth sharing - It comes from an Italian Doctor:

“Even in my worst nightmares, I would never have expected to see and live the events that have occurred in our hospital over the last three weeks. This horror is increasing every day; it’s become unmanageable and we have become ineffective.

At first, only a few people came, then it was hundreds, and now, we are no longer doctors, but selectors… We have to decide who will live, and who will die by sending them home, even though these people have duly paid their taxes in Italy.

Two weeks ago, my colleagues and I were atheists. Belief in science was the norm. And science eliminates God’s presence. I had always laughed at my parents for going to church.

Nine days ago, a 75-year old pastor came to us with severe respiratory problems. He had a Bible and would read passages every day to those who were dying and hold their hands. We were both mentally and physically exhausted, and bitter, but when we had the time we would sit down and listen. We have to admit that, as humans, we have reached our limits, we can’t do any more! More and more people are dying every day. We are exhausted; two of our colleagues have died and others are barely standing. We realised that mankind’s scientific knowledge is limited and that we need God! We started to pray whenever we had a few minutes. It’s incredible, but even as committed atheists, we came to God and found peace! He helps us persevere so we can care for the patients. Yesterday, this 75-year old shepherd passed away. We were devastated as never before (despite having seen 120 deaths over the last week). Because this old shepherd, whilst he was with us, managed to bring back peace to us, a peace I had had no hope of ever finding.

The shepherd has gone to be with the Lord and we will follow soon. I have not gone home for 6 days; I can’t remember when I last ate and I’ve realised how useless I’ve been to people on this earth until now. I want to help others until my last breath. I am glad to have found God and I want to serve him by helping my fellow men until my final breath."

My revered cousin, Sue, whose father was a consultant surgeon and mother a senior nurse, wrote this today: "We have been taught that cleanliness is next to Godliness in importance. Let’s not forget Godliness comes first!" Like her, my sense is that we have lost sight of that and we're the poorer for it, as individuals and as a nation. After all we'll all die some time, but I suspect the peace which that 75-year old "shepherd" brought outlasts even dying.

The silencing of the Church

I was somewhat appalled to read this: "Our church buildings must now be closed not only for public worship, but for private prayer as well and this includes the priest or lay person offering prayer in church on their own. A notice explaining this should be put on the church door (please find template attached). We must take a lead in showing our communities how we must behave in order to slow down the spread of the Coronavirus." Who said this? The Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of England. Apparently it is giving a lead to the rest of society. 

As you may know, for many years I was a priest (technically I still am), and I looked after three churches where prayers had been offered daily for centuries or millennia. Now "Following the Prime Minister’s announcement last night, it is imperative that for the health of the nation and in order for the National Health Service itself to manage the increase in those requiring medical help, the Church of England strictly observes the new guidelines on staying at home and only making journeys that are absolutely necessary, such as shopping for essential items and to take daily exercise." Apparently without demur the Church has agreed that this previous necessary duty of the priest to offer prayers for his parish in the parish church is no longer essential. 

I appreciate that she or he may pray equally from her or his home, and that God does not dwell in buildings. But even so I would have hoped that the Church powers-that-be would have argued to the Government that, if only as a symbol of the essential importance of public prayer at such a time as this, the minimum of a priest praying daily for their community and nation in the central building of that community should continue.  (Maybe they did. If so, it would have shown clergy respect to have said so.)

We may mostly be confined to our homes, but the sign of the vicar or priest still making their way to the church building to pray for the parish and the world every day would be a powerful sign. "Ah, there goes the vicar to pray for us all. Thank Goodness." It is a sign of committed love and care. People notice.   

In my view it's an absolutely necessary journey. I trust that those who continue to make it aren't disciplined by the Church or fined by the State. 

We live in strange times indeed. This week we'll live an one-party state with no checks and balances, answerable to no one. What's more, as my wife and I discovered when we received texts from UK_Gov telling what we "must" and must not do, it's a one-party state which knows all our private telephone numbers. Worryingly, even the Church, which has in the past spoken truth to power, seems to be silently compliant. Perhaps it will in time find its voice. Meanwhile I like the majority of us hope and trust that the Government, which is facing an unprecedented global crisis and has expert advisers - expertise is no longer despised -, is acting in the interests of the common good. And like a good chap stay at home, and muse.

An interesting after-note
A retired judge has pointed out to me that the complete sealing of churches is not the law, simply ecclesiastical guidance. The relevant piece of legislation is this: 
Statutory Instruments
2020 No. 350
Public Health, England
The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020
Made
at 1.00 p.m. on 26th March 2020
Laid before Parliament
at 2.30 p.m. on 26th March 2020
Coming into force
at 1.00 p.m. on 26th March 2020

Further restrictions and closures during the emergency period
5.
(6) A place of worship may be used—
(a)for funerals,
(b)to broadcast an act of worship, whether over the internet or as part of a radio or television broadcast, or
(c)to provide essential voluntary services or urgent public support services (including the provision of food banks or other support for the homeless or vulnerable people, blood donation sessions or support in an emergency).

Criminal beauty

“Oh not HIM again!’ I said to Jane. ‘Haven’t we seen more than enough of him by now? It’ll just be the same old thing - again.” I was talking about Gareth Malone and “The Choir”. Same old formula, I thought. Goes to a bunch of uninterested kids/women/workers, and magically transforms them into a choir that brings tears to everyone’s eyes. The first series was at a West London comprehensive of rough kids. Then he went to a housing estate, military wives, hospital, factory and ferry workers, a school right next to Grenfell Tower - and now he was off to Aylesbury Prison, a secure unit for the worst male young offenders. Here we go again… the same magic touch and we’ll see the teenagers transformed into a Welsh male voice choir, or more likely a swinging gospel choir.

How wrong I was! You may have seen it. We watched the two programmes on catch-up, and they were moving, largely because Gareth didn’t succeed - well, not like elsewhere. He had underestimated the scale of the mountain he and the inmates had to climb. For one thing, they weren’t petty criminals. They were there for long sentences, for crimes like armed robbery, stabbing, drug-dealing. They were violent. They formed themselves into gangs even in prison and so there were fights and injuries several times a week. Many of them were struggling with mental and personality disorders. At every point, it seemed, they and any visitors were searched for weapons. Getting a group together was impossible. The most he managed was three. “This is the hardest situation I’ve ever faced,” he said and he almost admitted defeat.

And yet, he didn’t give up. He always saw possibilities in the offenders, even though society and they themselves had written them off. Their world and their music were totally different from his. They could lose their cool at any moment and walk out. But he told them when they had “done good”; he recognised and affirmed their talents. And in the end, in an empty wing of the prison, a handful of them gave performances of work they’d written themselves to their parents, staff and visitors. It was a huge achievement for them; they realised they weren’t lost causes. Happily, although Gareth’s time there ended, the impressive female governor was going to continue a music programme building on his foundations.

However this isn’t just a story about a handful of young criminals. It’s about seeing the good in others, even when we think there isn’t any - because there IS. In everybody. We’re all made “in the image of God”, and whatever that means it must be good. Jesus called himself the Light of the World and one thing light does is reveal beauty. In those young people there was music and poetry, and a longing to be better. It’s easy to write people off. God never does. He sees beauty - and hope.

(First appeared in Grove Community News March 2020)