October Intercessions

Online worship from the SEC -
still available on Sunday mornings at 11am and Thursday evenings at 6:30pm

Daily Prayer - Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer and Night Prayer (Compline)

Full list of SEC virtual services (Youtube) from March on

Curate's Letter

The yearn for normality

Dear All…

With the news of yesterday's restrictions on social movement, limiting us yet again so that we cannot meet in each other's homes, I wondered and continue to wonder on our mental welfare and how we're all bearing up.

Having had a holiday now, in a place where there was no WiFi or mobile reception, deep in the countryside, I came to realise that this constant bombardment of different media is partly to blame for the mental state of so many people. I struggled for the first few days of my holiday with not having any access to WiFi. I couldn't fall back on my 'go to' methods of surfing the internet, or watching BBC iPlayer. I couldn't interact with friends on social media, but discovered by day 4 that this was actually a REALLY good thing for my mental welfare. Our spirituality and the state of our mental health will dictate how well we cope with the issues that life throws at us.

Many people have commented about Lockdown bringing out polarised opposites in the people they meet - either the best, or the very worst. Misogyny, domestic violence, various abuses and suicides have all risen dramatically, and the easing of Lockdown began to see a cautious but a much needed return to the services that help combat these issues. Lockdown in the summer months will be very different to a Lockdown in the winter months. These perennial issues are one reason, I would suggest, that Lockdown is not being imposed as draconianly as it was back in March.

We have also seen regions in England setting tighter restrictions thereby trying to curb the rise of infections in a local area, rather than country wide. I wondered whether we would see a similar method used in Scotland where Caithness for instance could set its own freedoms or restrictions. I have heard people say that Caithness is relatively free of the virus and therefore why couldn't we have more freedoms than elsewhere, but I don't hold to this theory.

We can be as careful as we want, or perhaps we think that only a few people caught the virus, therefore Caithness is 'safe.' We know of one person who caught it in April (according to the Groat) and was hospitalised. I know of at least three other accounts of the virus in March in Caithness, so I don't hold to the theory of Caithness being freer of the virus. I think it was less recorded, and those who caught it and didn't need hospitalisation will never be included in the statistics. The stats for the county are only as muted as they are due to the low population and the distances between residential dwellings. However, these distances mean that we travel more, and when we go somewhere we visit several places because we only want to do one trip out.

Some of us are somehow happy to sit across kitchen tables or meet in a restaurant, talking face to face with less than a metre between us, with others who met with others the day before. My understanding of logic isn't very sure about this. We know that there at least five strains of CoVid. We know that even though we might have had 'it,' we can still carry it and spread it to others. Huddling together, mask or no mask, increases our risk of infection and of those around us.

This is why the guidance given by the Scottish Episcopal Church to Vestries to look at the opening up of the church buildings for services is as stringent as it can be. Adherence to these guidelines - including letting the Vestry Secretaries know if you're coming to church - is paramount for us to keep ourselves and each other as safe as can be.

As I write this, St John's is gearing up for its first physical Sunday service since March, while St Peter's is still working through the proforma required by the Bishop. Physical distancing, the frequent sanitising of hands, the wearing of masks are all required as this is in compliance with government guidelines. There is an updated video by the Scottish Episcopal Church at https://www.scotland.anglican.org/new-version-of-re-opening-guidance-video-released/ which I thoroughly recommend you watch if you are able. A written transcript is included in Outlook.

Even though the buildings are opening up for physical services, worship by post, Facebook and Zoom will not stop. Because there are members who cannot stop shielding, and members who should remain shielded but for whatever reason feel that they must come back to the building. What we do, and whether we felt we were climbing the walls during Lockdown, is tied into our mental welfare as well as our physical health. If, for example, there is one member of your household that really ought to shield due to age, or health, then others in that household really ought to remain with them.

The yearn for normality is huge. Your perspective on whether it's 'safe' to come into the church building may change from day to day. If you're down to read or steward and don't feel it's safe to do so, that's fine - tell me in good time. There is no pressure to do anything that you don't want to do, unless it breaks the law.

As the mornings and evenings begin to draw in, where and how we hold services and what we are allowed to do, especially with the more vulnerable members of the communities are issues that exercise my mind. There is no 'one size fits all.' Our mental welfare is strongly tied into our spirituality and vice versa. Call me on 01847 896403 or email me on revelliecharman@gmail.com but whatever you do, don't remain silent and in need of a chat.

Ellie Charman