Has the Church been locked down and out?

History will bear witness, in the weeks and months following the Coronavirus pandemic, of those who stepped up to the plate … and those who may have seemed to be silent in the national narrative that unfolded as we were herded into our homes during lockdown, while the cruel virus raged relentlessly. Many risked their lives in acts of self-sacrifice, some even gave of their lives. I am deeply humbled by these acts, as we should all be, especially as we have considered our current generation ‘the snowflake generation’, in marked contrast to those who fought for their country in the two World wars. Over a half a million volunteered to help the NHS, people of all religious and cultural background and ages. The first two doctors to die of the virus were of Sudanese origin, who had dedicated their skills to our country for decades. Doctors and nurses, knowing of their vulnerability to the invisible menace, came out of retirement to help the national effort. Once such doctor was Dr Alfa Saadu, originally from Nigeria, who returned to the NHS to help out, after 40 years of service, only to be one of the first to die. One of so many tragic but heroic stories that could be told.

And what of us Christians? Of course, there are many Christians in the NHS and caring professions, who are working on the front line. One of them, a close friend working as a doctor at a hospital in Manchester had this to say: “But frightened as I approach the edge of this waterfall in my small inflatable dingy, and look down and see that we only have 130 ventilators at my major teaching hospital and a limited supply of oxygen.  To know there will be many lives lost that could have been saved is my nightmare, likely shared by doctors up and down the country.  We see death and dying all the time, but never where it could have been avoided had we had enough resources.  The horror of what is creeping upon us speaks to me of the Michelangelo fresco in the Sistine chapel; lives falling whilst we reach out helpless.”

It's the rest of the story that leaves me in confusion and inner conflict. In the two weeks since lockdown all I have seen is a Church in retreat, a Church unable yet to adapt to a changing paradigm of the “virtualisation of the koinonia” and concentrating in adapting the technology to fit the existing model, in order to continue to “feed the flock”, let alone thinking of the Great Commission. Panic reigns, and unfamiliarity. The test will be when the initial shock leads to a realisation that new thinking may be necessary in order to move forwards. There could very well be an amazing opportunity being offered here, but time will tell …