Page 3 - St Barnabas Parish Homerton Summer Magazine 2020

8.7.20 From ST BARNABAS RECTORY

FAREWELL TO SUSIE - and THANK YOU
On 30 June, Susie Paddock finished her ministry in our parish.
On behalf of everyone, thank you,Susie, for all you have given
to us over the last 5 years. Susie came on a one year contract,
then it got extended, and extended, as each year her job descrip-
tion changed. Community Audit first, then interim minister first for Christ-
church, then for Christchurch and All Souls, then for the merged All Souls/
Christchurch. Susie has accompanied and held those two churches on such a
journey, and with such love and commitment. She will be missed enormously.
REBOOTING

Rebooting is what you do to your computer after it crashes or malfunctions.
Hopefully when you start it up again, it will be back to working normally. It has
become a word we have heard frequently with reference to our lives in the last
three months. After the immense damage and disruption of coronavirus, we
long to get back to ‘normal’ living. Or do we? The pandemic and lockdown
have triggered a lot of questions about what we want the ‘new normal’ to be.

● Rebooting our individual lives Whether you’ve had covid or not, it has
greatly impacted our lives. People admit to losing rhythms, motivation and
focus and are not sure how to recover. Honest talk with each other helps.

● Rebooting church life Church life didn’t cease under lockdown. We had
to learn to be and do church differently (thank God for the internet) Now
that lockdown is easing, we can begin to reboot ‘physical’ church life, but
within a new framework. Lots of questions about what sort of church will
that be? What have we learned that we must keep hold of?

● Rebooting our world Before the pandemic, our world was already facing
the most urgent issues of climate change, environmenmtal destruction and
appalling inequalities between rich and poor. Coronavirus has shown how
connected our world is, and how we ignore that at our peril. In the midst of
the pandemic, the tragic death of George Floyd triggered the massive Black
Lives Matter movement, highlighting further deep inequalities. Can this
global crisis be the opportuinity to reboot our world for the better? It won’t
‘just happen’. Do discover what the Tearfund Reboot campaign is all about.
All this feels very uncomfortable. God is certainly “the God of all comfort, who
comforts us in all our troubles” (II Cor 1:4), but have you discovered the
uncomfortable side to God? Jesus taught uis to pray ‘your kingdom come’, and
to be agents of that kingdom. Recent months have highlighted
the damaged and divided world we inhabit, Has God’s kingdom
come yet? Do you feel God stirring and prodding - uncomfortably?