One of the things I have been reminded of over the last 6 months is that all of us, church members or not, are on a journey. All of us have had our lives impacted by the pandemic in ways that will most likely take years to come to terms with. In the restricted existence of lockdown, I’ve become more tuned in to how God is active in my life and the lives of those I encounter each day. Daily walks (and occasional runs) have become a really important part of my routine. I’ve realised that like many others I was suffering from what Ruth Valerio, Churches and Theology Director of A Rocha UK, calls Nature Deficit Disorder.
In 2014 the Sandhills Community Action Project report identified that “feelings of isolation is one of the most common experiences reported by the residents we engaged with right across the age spectrum.” Whilst parts of the community are now more established, new houses are still being built. There is a regular turnover of people moving in and out of Sandhills and the neighbouring estates. Various communities exist, for example, around school, football or dog walking. However, loneliness is undoubtedly still a factor, especially after several lockdowns.
As church, we are fortunate to have regular times and spaces (whether face-to-face or online) where we can be with others, reflect before God, share our lives and feel refreshed. Perhaps our main gift to our community is to invite people to join us. To do that we need to be visible. Over the last year or so, being outdoors has often been the only way to meet anyone at all outside of our households. At the present time it still offers the best way of connecting with others.
Bringing all this together, as a church community we decided to host an open-air drop-in (next to the local community centre) with refreshments, and some gentle low-key activities to help us all to reflect on what we are grateful for, what we have lost and what we have learned. We’ll offer a tangible sign of hope to take away for those that want to. We’ve named this event “Hope After COVID”. Our spirit is very much “have a go”, and we are seeking to learn more about the needs of our community as we try something new. Everyone is different in their response to the pandemic, so we will be listening carefully to people’s concerns.
By sharing some of the things that help us find peace – the Cave practices – we aim to communicate God’s love and the value he places on every single person. It is not the end of the road, but the first step on the next part of our journey – as individuals, as church and as community. What we learn will feed into the larger new estates mission project that is just starting. Watch this space for future updates!
References
Karl Leatham and Joelle Bradley (Lodestar), Creating social value in new communities, 2014, p.11. Available at: https://www.cabeds.org.uk/images/pdf/SROI-Full-Report—Creating-Social-Value-in-new-communities.pdf (accessed 25 June 2021).
On the journey 