Last Sunday, our first outside the church building, we managed to put together a short service helped by Chris and Tom. We learned a lot from the experience and had great plans for what we would do this week. However, new rules came into force — eminently sensible rules — but it meant that we no longer had the services of Chris and Tom who were isolated at their own homes.

So our service this Sunday was prepared at Mount Pleasant by the folk who live here — Rachel, Olive and me. We enjoyed putting something together and most of our congregation have shared it today. Many actually watched the service at 10.30 am just as if we were in church. Immediately following (well, allowing ten minutes for folk to make themselves a cup of coffee and get onto our zoom conference page) we had half an hour of congregational chat. It was just as if we were in church, absolutely wonderful and the undisputed highlight was the appearance of Molly who is staying longer than anticipated in Australia because of the virus. We all enjoyed hearing from her and sharing in her adventures. (She had been kayaking in 37 degrees earlier in the day.)

We had only managed to make arrangements to have our ‘after church video link’ last night so one or two people missed the email notification of it; and one or two emails bounced back: so if you didn’t hear from me with the link I hope that you will contact me. We will be doing the same next Sunday.

An innovation for this week has been a reading, a thought and a prayer for each day. I’ve done these this week but the one for tomorrow has been prepared by Tom and Dorothy, recorded in their dining room and sent to me over the internet. It will replace our Morning Service at midnight.

Have I felt ‘locked in’ this week? I’ve actually been too busy to think about it: busy learning new skills and new technology and really quite enjoying myself. It is awful, however, when one stops and considers all that is going on — the suffering that people are enduring, the worries that folk are being subjected to. I suspect we just have to follow the rules we are given and trust that there is a light at the end of this particular tunnel — that and to never forget that throughout all of this we continue to be loved by God, our Father who wishes nothing but good for us his children and who is suffering with each of his children who is suffering here just now.

Keep safe!