Pause #1 - how life has changed so quickly! - Let's be kind!

I'm hopefully going to take time to pause over these next few weeks once in a while and blog about the strange season we're in!

Since the beginning of Lent 2020 things have changed - how life and ministry have changed.

Who at the start of 2020 would have believed we would be where we are now.

Schools closed
Ireland in a period where movements are restricted
Church buildings closed
and normal life on hold.

I write this a couple of days after the latest restrictions have come into force.

In one email I received during the past week quoted someone who had been caught up in a earthquake and said that the important thing was to get to a place of relative safely to discover what was going on.

The past week or so has for me been just that - getting ourselves into a place of safety - a place of ah.
a place to take a breath and look around at what's happening.

Church for us here in Carrigrohane Union like in so many other places across the globe has dramatically changed in its form but remains reassuringly together in its substance.

The past few weeks have allowed me to experiment with pieces of technology which are new to me - it is by no means a substitute for face to face pastoral ministry - not by a long shot. I would just love to be in Blarney, St. Peters, Inniscarra or Parish Centre with the familarity of place and people. With the smiles and banter. I long for sitting down in Centra in Blarney with a cuppa and meeting with people over a brownie.

I long to be standing in the Carraig Centre welcoming visitor and members of our congregation to the new place

but for now we're having to do stuff virtually. And what we've managed to do has been remarkable in such a short period of time. I say remarkable because we have people who have taken the time to create art, record music, send stuff to our kids, re-invent house groups to on-line communities and much more besides.

It has also involved phoning around many parishioners - and many more still to happen in the coming weeks - I'm so thankful for the technology that allows all of this to happen,

Thanks to the wonders of a couple of bits of software and some hardware which was installed in the Carraig centre and now at home here with me we've managed to bring together some stuff and produce a decent enough Sunday Morning service. Enough in order to get people joining us from both Facebook and You Tube simultaneously.

It's been remarkable to have on average 60-70 streams of live worship going out to homes all over the parish and beyond

The great thing which has helped is that people can comment on these streams - so that has been great.

There are loads of interesting links coming in from lots of people for activities - next week I hope to do a sequence of what's possible in the announcement slot.

This stuff is going to be useful in the weeks ahead - there are very much by all accounts really difficult weeks ahead for all of our communities.

My hope and prayer is that as a community we stick together, support one another in new ways.

I have no idea what is coming our way - thankfully I do not! - but for the time being I'm  taking time to pray, read, enjoy creation, time with family whether they be present in our house or virtually with us.

My prayer is for those who cannot do this at this time - for all of those essential workers in all sectors of the economy - health, food, infrastructure, government, communications, security and more - whilst we are staying at home they are being put at risk.

One piece of advice which holds true in any circumstance - let's be kind to one another - and even more so now.