The gradual easing of lockdown restrictions comes as a welcome step forward for all of us in the UK, although we are very mindful of other countries, such as India and Brazil, where Coronavirus is gaining frightening ascendancy. Europe also is experiencing a surging second wave and is caught up in the uncertainty of which vaccines to use for various age groups.  This negative publicity around the relative risks posed by different vaccines does not encourage the world population to take up the vaccine, and until the whole world is vaccinated, the health of everyone is compromised.

I attended a Zoom meeting last week at which a lead chaplain in a London hospital spoke of the exhaustion and mental distress felt by all in the NHS, including her chaplaincy team.  During the most recent lockdown, she and her colleagues had been faced with taking multiple funerals each day.  The scale of death experienced by her hospital is completely unprecedented, and this must remind us to continue to take our government’s restrictions seriously as we adopt a phased withdrawal from lockdown.

For those of us who have been working from home, perhaps shielding a loved one or minimising our personal risk, it is an unnerving prospect to venture out again.  Going into a supermarket with narrow aisles, taking a parcel into the Post Office, standing in a socially-distanced line in church to receive Holy Communion – each of these perfectly normal activities up until March of last year has taken on a huge new significance.  I will admit that it makes me feel nervous to stand in close proximity to anyone else.  And I wonder how long it will take for us to overcome our fear of other people and the disease they (or we) might be incubating.

And for those who were already suffering from agoraphobia, post-traumatic stress disorder or any other mental health issue, this additional burden must make their daily lives even more challenging.  Charitable organisations such as ‘Mind’ or the ‘Mental Health Foundation’ are doing superb work to encourage people to engage with mental well-being, and this is reinforced by the publicity which high-profile individuals such as members of the royal family can bring.  There will be a UK Mental Health Awareness Week from 10^th to the 16^th May focusing on the theme of nature and the environment.  This recognises the huge part which nature has played in helping us to cope with lockdown, and how we have benefited from being in the great outdoors.  BBC television programmes such as Gardeners World, Countryfile and the Spring/Autumn/Winterwatch series have had higher viewing numbers than ever before.  The constant cycle of nature helps us to regain a sense of perspective as we find pleasure in small things.

And what does our faith teach us about nature?  Right from the start of the Bible we learn that when God created the world, He saw that it was very good.   God gave a purpose and an order to creation, so that humans would be able to find physical food as well as receive emotional nourishment and pleasure at the sight of what had been created. 

Psalm 19 opens with this wonderful verse: “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.”  As we look at the world around us, may we appreciate its beauty and resolve to take care of all people and of nature, both of which need our help and support at this time more than ever.

Sarah Bourne, Chaplain for the Arts – 28^th April 2021          sarahbourne@banburystmary.org.uk