Getting used to the “New Normal”…

I heard someone on the radio today, arguing that we need a break from the Coronavirus restrictions, so why can’t they all be relaxed for Christmas? After all, she said, during the First World War British and German soldiers agreed the so-called Christmas Truce and managed to sing carols together and play football… Of course the answer was swiftly given - it was people who could take the decision not to shoot at each other or to fire shells and drop bombs; we can’t ask the virus to stop making us sick or killing us.

From which I think we can learn two things. First, we can’t expect any quick way out of the pandemic. This is a virus which is highly infectious; most of those infected may only suffer mild symptoms but the seriousness for a minority combined with exponential growth in infection rates could easily overwhelm the NHS, filling intensive care beds and taking hundreds of thousands of lives. There may be hopes for a vaccine - but it will take time even if it’s possible. And how long will it take to produce and administer it? We have a flu vaccine already and the Government wants to vaccinate everyone over the age of 50 - but when I rang my health centre to ask when I as a 64 year old would get it, the answer was that the supplies just weren’t there; hopefully November or December! So what hope for any Covid-19 vaccine? That’s why we have to keep people as safe as possible from the virus. We can’t keep All Saints and All Souls-tide as we normally would. We can’t have public Acts of Remembrance at village war memorials. It’s highly unlikely that we will have Christmas as we would wish - if there’s no congregational singing allowed in church now and a continuing need for social distancing, how might we expect to get over 300 people into church for a Christingle with carol-singing?

Of course we will still celebrate Christmas. Christ’s coming among us is a reality. It can’t be denied - Jesus is born, God’s love come among us in human flesh. It’s how we will celebrate that may be different - but still so essential. And this leads to the second thing to recognise… Viruses are not open to human reason, but we can make peace with our neighbours - we just need the will. When will we learn?                

Martin Jackson

From the November issue of our Parish Magazine - find it via this link