Looking for God's radical presence

This past year has been a long one! Our last ‘normal’ services in church were on the 15th March 2020. Since then, although we’ve been back in the buildings on and off, we’ve been severely restricted. And that’s just one of countless changes, big and small, that we’ve all had to make, and are still making.

Over that time, we’ve longed for normal. We’ve maybe enjoyed some peace and quiet and time to do other things. Or we’ve juggled home working, home schooling and Zooms with friends. Some have us have struggled to make ends meet. Some of us have been ill, sometimes really ill, with Covid and many other things. We’ve lost friends and loved ones. And we’ve gained some new ones along the way.

Daily life has changed. Changed completely. And the world looks really different.

This week’s outline from the First Minister of how the next few weeks and months might pan out is a glimmer of a future that isn’t locked down. And it’s wonderful to contemplate.

But what will that future look like? Do we go back to everything the way it was before? Should we go back to everything the way it was before? Or has lockdown and Covid and time spent differently taught us that some things were maybe a bit (or more than a bit!) broken already?

Over the next few weeks, inspired by Green Christian’s series called Radical Presence, those are the questions we’ll be asking. And listening for God’s voice on these sorts of questions: What do we value? What sort of a community do we want to build and belong to? What are the kinds of work that really matter? How should we be led and participate? What sort of a planet do we want to hand over to our children?

If you’d like to join us, then we’re planning a series of blog posts like this one, with pointers to other reading and questions to ponder, and the opportunity for you to add your own thoughts and comments. Every now and again we’ll host a get-together on Zoom to carry on the conversation there. And there will be the odd video on Facebook with my thoughts as well.

Lots of ways to engage and participate as we look for God’s radical presence and wonder, together, how we can start build his kingdom in a post-Covid world.