Well, Zoom Church went well on Sunday, we had around 54 households logged in accounting for about 70 people. It's so good that by the wonders of technology we can be together as a church, whilst also constantly mindful of caring for those who are not up with the zoom generation.
I couldn't help but smile when I heard that Terry Waite, the former envoy of the Archbishop of Canterbury, was doing fine in isolation. Terry was kidnapped in Beirut in 1987 and held by terrorists for 1,736 days in difficult conditions. So let's just say Terry, aged 80, is handling his time alone in the English countryside quite well. He's writing a book. He had some advice for us in Level-4 lock-down:
“The way to do that, in part, is to try and live for the moment; try and live for now…try and make the moment as full as possible...In all these situations, keep your own dignity, keep yourself smart and the same applies today when those people are at home in lock-down. You know, don’t just get up and hang around all day in a dressing gown or pyjamas. Take a pride in your appearance still, keep yourself smart. Retain your own dignity. That’s really pretty important.”
Terry Waite revealed himself to be a person of tough character back then, and he's worth listening to now. This Covid-19 crisis is quite revealing of the qualities of character and leadership shown by presidents and prime-ministers around the globe. I would say they are on show and on notice that their words and deeds will be important and career defining.
I'll be interested to see after the crisis, what the world makes of leaders and officials who suppressed the reality of rapid human to human transmission in the early days of SARS-CoV-2, resulting in the disease known as Covid-19. That they made the 'whistle-blowing' professionals and scientists who were ready to warn the world 'disappear' is both alarming and confronting, but perhaps not surprising. Power tends to corrupt,” said Lord Acton, the 19th-century British historian. “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Sadly, we see this to be a reality not only in history, but also in contemporary politics.
I'll also be interested to see what happens to a White House whose empty-headed 'nothing to see here' attitude in early March is now turning into a human disaster of unprecedented proportions. We'll leave the UK and Boris alone for now, as worryingly, he has just been admitted to hospital with a persistent fever and Covid symptoms, symptoms now shared by his pregnant partner.
With our borders closed we can focus on what is happening in Aotearoa, possibly feeling somewhat smug about our 'tyranny of distance' which itself functions as a type of national quarantine. I suppose we are blessed with less complex jurisdictions, a general lack of corruption and a country delineated solely by coastline and vast ocean. Nonetheless, balancing both the ongoing health and economic life of the NZ population is going to be a white-knuckle ride. Let us pray much wisdom and courage for our politicians and key officials.
The church and its leaders too must show what they are made of. Jesus talked about his people being salt and light in the world. (Matt 5: 13-16) This speaks of an appropriate balance between gracious and compassionate engagement with our community (salt), and distinctive witness to our community (light). Both of these are still possible at this time.
When Jesus was teaching and walking around, there was no electricity. So things that could act as a preservative and stop the rot (salt) and things that showed the way in dark places (light) were precious commodities. Are we the church still such a precious commodity? May it be so.