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Food in the wilderness

Like Sundays

25/3/2020

7 Comments

 
What’s curious about the Coronavirus pandemic is the way it has brought a certain silence and stillness to parts of our world which normally thrum with activity. When my father, a man in his seventies, recounted what he had seen at the local shops a few days previously, the only words he could use which adequately described the eery quiet were: it’s like Sundays used to be. I can’t help but feel there’s a significance here which we, as people of faith, ought not to miss.

I spent much of 2018 teaching English abroad: first in Spain, then in Germany. Continental Europe isn’t necessarily more religious than the United Kingdom, but I was, nevertheless, struck by the way that Sundays are still very much held as sacred there, with the vast majority of cafés, shops and restaurants closed. In places like Barcelona, the difference is palpable, and the whole pace and volume of the city comes down a good few notches on a Sunday. It’s a time to rest, reflect, spend time with loved ones and, if you’re of a Christian persuasion, enjoy the intimacy with God which flourishes in the quiet.

Back in Blighty, though, this is no longer the case, and hasn’t been since I was a teenager, or perhaps even earlier than that. More and more we are finding ourselves living in a ‘twenty-four hour society’ where access to shopping, services and entertainment is expected round the clock, regardless of the day. It is estimated that under ten percent of British adults attend Church regularly, so Sunday, for a great deal of us, has become very much like any other day. It’s yet another symptom of a world which no longer has time for its Creator.

As Christians, we are privileged to have for our Father a God who can bring everything from nothing, life from death, and joy from even the most sorrowful circumstances. We ought not to be surprised, then, to see Him working miracles and bringing something positive out of the current crisis. Perhaps one such positive element might be that now, and quite unexpectedly, all of our Sundays seem to have come at once.

What effect might this have on our society? With so many amusements normally competing for our attention, there’s apparently little need to stop and think about the important questions in life, such as where we came from or where we might be going, how far away the stars are or Who might have put them there. For people of a certain generation, this will be the first time in their lives they’ve actually had the chance to pause and reflect for an extended period of time. For others, it might take them back to a simpler way of life which they remember but thought they’d forgotten. It might just be that the silence and stillness, unwelcome as it might be for so many of us, is finally going to give God’s voice the chance to be heard, for it is in silence that the Lord speaks, as the prophet Elijah found:

And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. (1 Kings 19: 11-12)

How is God speaking to you in our current circumstances? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

​By Lucy Stothard
7 Comments
Sue Davis
25/3/2020 05:32:28 pm

Being a similar age to your father I totally agree with him. Sundays were special as a child in the 40s and 50s. The whole day virtually was given to God, from bellringing before mass, Sunday school and later Catechism, and then a Sunday school teacher myself. After lunch we may sometimes have fitted in a walk in the park and then soon it was time for Sung Evensong. After that it was youth club in the church hall. My favourite day of the week.
The streets were quiet on the whole apart, of course, for the Salvation Army band wonderfully letting everyone else who weren't in church about the glory of God.

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Lucy
25/3/2020 05:44:00 pm

Thank you so much for your comment, Sue - it's great to read about your memories and it certainly sounds like Sundays were a very blessed time for you growing up. If I may ask, where did you grow up? Are you originally from Reading?

I personally love the sound of Church bells ringing on a Sunday morning. Church bells, birdsong and fresh air...it doesn't get much better than that.

Bless you.

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Sue Davis
26/3/2020 11:56:40 am

I grew up in Swindon, Wiltshire, and attended The railway church, St Marks. (now Swindon New Town Parish). I had meant to be there right now as the new priest in charge,Fr Toby Boutle was being licenced yesterday. However the 'big service' had to be cancelled and he was licenced online by our Bishop Jonathan.

Averil
25/3/2020 07:16:48 pm

Hi Lucy, Congrats on becoming an intern. My Sundays as a child was going to Sunday School & Church. Something to make you laugh, Mum made me a beautiful yellow dress when I was about 8 and still living in Caversham. I wanted so much to wear my dress but Mum told me I could only wear it if I went to Church with her so I went to Church just because I was able to wear my dress.
I am catching up on my reading and spending longer time with the Lord each morning. The sun shines on my balcony in the morning and I am looking forward to doing my quiet time outside enjoying the fresh air. God bless. Averil

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Lucy
26/3/2020 03:46:47 pm

So nice to hear an update from you, Averil! Your story did indeed make me laugh. You know, I really don't think God minds if our motives aren't 100% pure when we first come to Him. He can work on that. What matters is that we're there.

It sounds like you are having a graced time with the Lord and I'm pleased that you're able to spend some time out in the fresh air. The weather's so nice at the moment it would be a shame to waste it.

Let's keep in touch; we love to hear how you're doing.

God bless you.

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john Moore
25/3/2020 09:49:28 pm

“What’s curious about the Coronavirus pandemic is the way it has brought a certain silence and stillness to parts of our world which normally thrum with activity”.

Thank you Lucy. I received a photograph today of someone’s garden in Croatia. It is similar to photos Jan and I have received from Lithuania at this time of year. The garden, forest, landscape is covered in snow. Snow has a unique quality to it. There is a hush. Presumably it absorbs sound waves. I remember as a seven year old being sent from the inner city to an Open-Air School (type of sanatorium for boys) in the 1950s and how snow silenced even the noise of boys playing on the pure white school lawn and crunching it as we walked along the silent Warwick Road to Sunday church.
There seemed an innocence then but now, as you observe Lucy, everyone is rushing 24x7. No space left to feel alive.
In the snow the earth rests but we know there will be a resurrection in the spring. Interestingly, on this point, Rachel Carson famously named her 1962 seminal condemnation of the chemical industry, Silent Spring. Silence that results from extending the industrial wasteland; a desert of sorts but thankfully God can be found there, even in human-made desert places. .

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Lucy
26/3/2020 03:52:10 pm

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and memories, John - delightful to read! I hope that you and Jan are keeping safe and well at this time.

I know exactly what you mean about snow and I believe the whole earth is resting now - which might be just what it needs after years of heavy use. Here in Newcastle, the air seems gorgeously clean already - and it's only been a few days. I know someone who has resolved never to fly again once (please God) all of this is over.

Please keep in touch and keep commenting - it's great to hear from you.

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    Lucy Stothard & Fr David & Fr Tomas

    Lucy is an Intern at S Giles, Fr Tomas is is our curate, and Fr David is the vicar.  We hope to offer some regular words of encouragement during this difficult time.

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