This was meant to be a quieter week. I was due to be away at Summer School, a time to meet up with other Ministers, a time when we learn together but also socialise, catch up with friends, relax a little, be refreshed. But like so many things it ended up online and so we met one another as a block of pictures across the computer screen – just not the same as chatting in the bar. Inevitably we focused on the virus, our personal responses, and how we have reacted within communities and the church. It was interesting and slightly disconcerting. The first session talked about trauma – is this really a trauma? Well for some people it clearly has been, for others there is more fear in their lives – for the wellbeing of themselves, for loved ones, for work, through loneliness or feeling trapped inside. For many, just the interruption to normal routine is a challenge. It was interesting to note that some will react by overworking, others by being permanently distracted. For some our roles have gone and without our role we wonder what we are supposed to do with ourselves. At the same time we try to imagine what the future will be – for some, it’s all about getting back to normal – to how life used to be, but for many that will not be the case.
As churches we have reacted in different ways. We have discovered letter writing again (me), some are constantly on the phone (still not me), we have created online worship which has managed to include some who had been excluded in the past and exclude those who do not access an online world. Some churches have bigger online congregations than they had in their buildings and some of us have enjoyed dipping in to worship at other churches. How much of this is sustainable? Putting together online worship is harder work than a Sunday service, especially if you pre-record, but that allows people to come to it via Facebook, Youtube or Vimeo and pick a time that is more convenient for them. So we talked about how we might operate in a new time where some people could meet as a congregation, whilst the service is live-streamed for those still at home and recorded for those who wish/need to access at a different time than Sunday morning. But the difficulty in many places is that the Minister is the only one capable or willing to do all those things – and that is creating extra stress for some.
So last Sunday it was good to see some of you via zoom – there were about 16 of us and we have space for lots more. If you want to join us, please do so by computer or telephone. We will all be learning as we go. And if someone would like to explore live-streaming or recording, then please do. It’s on my list of things to learn, but that quiet week didn’t happen, so it’s still on the list.
Be blessed, Craig
Prayers & Reflection for 21 June 2020
God of new blessings and fresh starts
wiping the slate clean
holding nothing back
We give thanks for each blessing
for each act of mercy.
God who hears our silence
feels our daylong groans
gauges our pressure
We give thanks where guilt dissolves
where strength remains.
Hymn
Longing for light, we wait in darkness.
Longing for truth, we turn to you.
Make us your own, your holy people,
Light for the world to see.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in our hearts.
Shine through the darkness.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in your church gathered today.
Bible Genesis 21:8-21 (but look at Genesis 16 as well)
Reflection This is an interesting text for Father’s Day. Abraham at the insistence of Sarah throws his eldest son and his Mother out of the camp and leaves them to survive on their own in the desert. Theologian Phyllis Trible lists this as one of the “Texts of Terror”, for it was a terrifying prospect for Hagar and Ishmael and for so many women and children through the ages. “As a symbol of the oppressed, Hagar becomes many things to many people. … all sorts of rejected women find their stories in her. She is the faithful maid exploited, the black woman used by the male and abused by the female of the ruling class, the surrogate mother, the resident alien without legal recourse, the other woman, the runaway youth, the religious fleeing from affliction, the pregnant young woman alone, the expelled wife, the divorced mother with child, … and the self-effacing female whose own identity shrinks in service to other.” (Trible, Texts of Terror, p28)
But, thankfully it’s not all bad news, Hagar is not simply a victim, “She is the first person in scripture whom a divine messenger visits and the only person who dares to name the deity. Within the historical memories of Israel, she is the first woman to bear a child. … the first woman to hear an annunciation, the only one to receive a divine promise of descendants, and the first to weep for her dying child.” (Trible, Texts of Terror, p28)
This story is fascinating, a reminder that there is nothing new about tricky family relationships. Nothing new about powerful people enforcing power at the expense of others. Nothing new about people looking after their own and excluding others. The Good News is that there is nothing new about God hearing and responding to the voice of those who cry out. Nothing new about being reminded that for God, life matters.That at particular times in history one group of people need more support and care than others. It was when God demonstrated that the lives of Hagar and Ishmael mattered, that their lives had the opportunity to flourish and prosper. So it is today, even in the midst of difficult uncomfortable relationships. An interesting text for Fathers’s Day!
Prayer
God who instructs and celebrates, may prayers comprehend
may songs rejoice, may the word be understood
may loving-kindness surround, may honest hearts raise the roof
Selah,we pause to praise
Hymn
Longing for peace, our world is troubled.
Longing for hope, many despair.
Your word alone has power to save us.
Make us your living voice.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in our hearts.
Shine through the darkness.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in your church gathered today.
© Bernadette Farrell
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