All tagged COVID-19
As vaccination efforts are well under-way, at least in the USA and UK, Br Jim Woodrum reflects on mission during the COVID-19 pandemic. Br Jim is a Brother in the Society of St John the Evangelist (SSJE), as Anglican religious community founded in the parish of Cowley, Oxford in 1866. He lives in the community at the SSJE Monastery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The Annunciation must be one of the most commonly depicted scenes in the history of art. From paintings, to music, to poetry and narrative, the story of Gabriel’s message to Mary—infused with doubt and belief, joy and sorrow, fear and comfort—has proved to be remarkably generative for both the life of faith and the creative impulse. It is a story sharing space with both devastation and hope, and this means it is a story for all of us, whoever we are and wherever we are in life.
On Match 17, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York called for a hold on public worship. This is a sensible move as a means of containing the spread of COVID-19 and therefore of protecting those most vulnerable to infection . However, it also brings us great sadness: we Christians who regularly gather around the Lord’s table especially on the Lord’s day, come to share a sacrificial meal in which we are indeed united with the risen Christ. In looking around for what to say about this, we found this brief and moving reflection by Canon Dr Grant Bayliss over at the Cathedral: https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/blog/thoughts-cloistered-house
