Wednesday 10 June 2020

How are we doing?

At last Weymouth Crematorium has gone back to the usual 45 minute service times. For the last couple of months it's been just 30 minutes so, bearing in mind that the Chapel is disinfected between each service, we've had 15 minutes to give thanks for someone's life. The staff there have been brilliant, and at no small risk to themselves.

In mid April the King's College, London Covid 19 app flagged up that Weymouth and Portland was a hot-spot equivalent to East London boroughs, and certainly the crematorium had only a few spare spaces for weeks. Put those two bits of information together, and it tells me we must be careful not to relax too quickly. All this took place before the influx of day-trippers crowding out Durdle Door.

Most people use statistics like a drunk man uses a lamppost; more for support than illumination! and there is argument over the usefulness of  international comparison [which appeared in early government briefings but have not featured recently]. One chart in early June showed that the UK had more deaths than the rest of Europe put together. It is clear that complacency is dangerous, and that is why church buildings are being brought back into use cautiously and gradually.

It's one small important step towards our new norm because church buildings are 'thin' places where heaven overlaps with earth. They are 'houses of prayer' and remind us that investing in our spirits is vital. May God bless us all as we move forward.

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