Unlocking
A letter from Revd Canon Terry Joyce
So what has lockdown taught us? It’s been a strange and sometimes surreal experience, but I can’t help thinking how we will tell this story as we look back. Recently celebrating VE75, it was good to honour the high cost and be reminded of that distant story, as it has uniquely shaped our society ever since. The Coronavirus lockdown has been very different, but I can’t help thinking that it too has changed all of us.
Thursday night clapping for NHS and key workers and the way ‘Captain Tom’ inspired our generosity will be worthy features of our memories. But there are many smaller things too: ‘Zoom’ has become a way of life for some; ‘community’ and caring has strengthened as we’ve been looking out for those confined to home; there’s been more conversations with those we meet walking in the streets, whether we know them or not; Maureen’s chalk board outside her house as you come into Stockton on the Forest from York, with a different inspirational message each time you pass – thank you Maureen! Ironically, physical distancing seems to have brought us closer together.
Of course, there have been trials and tribulations and I don’t underestimate those. We have literally been ‘stopped in our tracks’. Aspirations have had to be reviewed and there is much uncertainty as we ‘unlock’. Life has changed. Gardens are smarter, cars are cleaner and the skies are empty, but we yearn to get back to normal. But what bits of ‘normal’ do we want to get back to, and what do we want to change?
We will never be quite the same again as a result of this experience. How might our priorities and values have been affected? Perhaps more distinctly from a Christian perspective, how has God been calling us during this time? More love has been shown and we can’t let that slip. Could this time be a significant opportunity in which we move forward together differently in a way that strengthens our resolve, refreshes our hope and unites us deeper in love?
Terry Joyce