I wonder what you think of when you think of community. It’s a word that’s used a lot but somehow hard to pin down and define. We know that being a part of a community matters, we have throughout our lives benefitted from the support that community brings.
Over the next few weeks, I am going to share some of my thoughts with you about the pandemic and its impact regarding a variety of topics. I hope that it will stimulate thinking and discussion – some of what I write may resonate with you and some of it may seem quite new. However, it should be stated at the beginning that the pandemic and its impact on lives and livelihoods has been horrific – I struggle with the big questions about why this has happened and am not sure of the value of trying to reach for a quick answer, but rather I will look at the impact on various areas of our life together and explore my thinking.
I wonder how you interact with technology? I find myself wrestling with anything new but then bemused that someone else can’t work out something I have mastered. Internet bank-ing is often a mystery, whereas email is just the way things are and is clearly a natural way of doing things. I was once referred to by a friend as a “neo-luddite,” meaning I was unwill-ing to adopt new technology after the year 2000 and referencing the 19th Century faction that smashed up new textile machinery – although I draw the line at destroying new tech-nology… mostly!
APCMs are a chance to look back – to report on the previous year – to look at the mission and activity of the parish throughout the previous 12 months. And what a 12 months it has been – a year unlike any of us remember.