Returning

 

Our youngest son returned to his office (Transport for London) yesterday after six months of working from home.  He was so taken with the ghost like atmosphere of the building and the fact that papers on his desk were in exactly the same place as they were left in early March, that he Whatsapped this photo.

I received his message on my way to Chorleywood Common for the daily dog walk, passing, for the first time since the Spring, students from Clement Danes making their way to school; returning for a new academic year after one that was cut short half way through.

It’s a theme that’s been on all our minds recently: how do we ‘return’ to some sense of normal routine – or when will that be possible?

Since the first Sunday in July some of us have been able to return to ‘in-person’ worship at AFC.  Our numbers have been around 40 every week.  About 30 people are the same Sunday by Sunday, whilst others come and go.

In the next few weeks, like many churches and community halls and following government guidelines, we will be re-opening the premises for some user groups. It’s another small step back to normality.  Although all of this has to be ‘provisional’, depending on developments.

It’s been so important for us as a church community to continue with the audio service and add the video recording, as this enables folk who are, understandably, not ready to return to ‘in-person’ worship to be included in.  We must never get tied of defining ourselves for the current time as ONE congregation worshipping in three different ways.  The interesting thing is that if you tot up all the numbers of those attending, listening or viewing Sunday worship we are 55% up on where we were before Lockdown started (although I am well aware that when it comes to statistics it’s all about their interpretation!)

The bible often has stories of returning, such as Jacob coming back to Esau and the Prodigal Son receiving the embrace of his loving Father.

‘Coming Home’ can be experienced in all sorts of ways, not least in the spiritual one of looking once more to God for help and meaning.  I believe that whenever we do that, we find a ready welcome.

A few pieces of news as we think about Church Life:

This week the September edition of magazine, Family News has been published.  Our thanks to everyone who has helped make this happen.

We’d like, also, to express our continued gratitude to the church community for your generosity in giving.  Our Free Will Offerings have seen an increase during the Pandemic, and this has helped offset some of the loss of income from the lack of lettings.  Our thanks to everyone for the commitment this has shown to the ongoing life of AFC.

Our Bible Teaching Day, due to be held next month, has been cancelled for this year.  Terry Hinks, our speaker, has agreed to come and led us next year on the theme of Christian ecology.

Government and Scientific guidelines have been changed recently to allow a small group of singers to take part in worship services.  So, next week, a few members of our choir will sing one of the hymns at the 10.30am service.  This will be done, after careful thought and measuring, from the chancel area so that it fulfils the social distancing requirements.  It will be yet another small step back to normality.

Another little step will be the way the service ends.  From this Sunday we’ll return to leaving the church in our normal way, that is during the concluding organ voluntary rather than all of us waiting to its end.  We’ll still leave one row at a time from the back.  If you wish to hear the voluntary all the way through, just remain seated and leave at its conclusion.

And finally, during this Season of Creation, we are launching a Harvest Project.  We’d like to invite you to submit a photograph on the theme of All Things Bright and Beautiful.  It can be of a landscape, a flower on the windowsill, an animal in the wild or a pet at home.  The choice is yours, as is whether or not to include yourself in the photo. 

So many people have drawn great comfort from nature over these last six months, so let’s celebrate God’s wonderful creation with a set of photos, and perhaps a few words to accompany them, that will publish on the Eco Church page of our website on Harvest Sunday. 

Please send your photos to me, and I’ll format them and get them ready for publication.  Let’s make it an act of Thanksgiving.