Fr Marcus' message
FATHER Marcus Ronchetti from the Costa Blanca Chaplaincy of the Anglican Church sends out a regular weekly message. His latest offering is thoughtful and heartfelt.
This week has seen that landmark figure of 100,000 deaths in the UK from Covid19. It is a very sobering thought, and I have to admit it brought tears to my eyes.
I feel that it warrants some sort of response from me as Senior Chaplain, but I am struggling to think of something new to say about it.
Of course we send our love and prayers to those who are grieving. We send our enormous thanks to all of those who are caring for others wherever they are, and we celebrate the wonderful work of our health service. Bless them.
We also stand alongside those who have lost loved ones, and our hearts go out to those who were not able to be with their partners when they died, and those who have not had a funeral service like they envisaged. Bless them. The clergy are of course happy to hold memorial services at a later date for anyone who would like it.
From a point of view of faith, this has, and continues to be a difficult time for many. Where is God in all this sadness, and why doesn’t he do something?
Well of course God is in the heart of it. He feels the pain of 100,000 of his children losing their life to this virus, he feels the pain of every bereaved heart, and he inspires so many to keep on going, to work at caring, to motivate those who are seeking in so many ways to bring relief, vaccines, treatment and hope.
You have heard me say
countless times about hanging on to our hope, of looking to the future, and my belief that this too shall pass, and all manner of things shall be well, and I hold by those thoughts. But we are at yet another grim milestone, and it is hard to fathom.
100,000 people is difficult to imagine. What does that amount of people look like? Who are they all?
They are members of families, children of God who are loved, and are now missed. Bless them, every one.
Sandra and I lost a dear friend to it last week. Only 65, and it really brings it home.
Sometimes words seem inadequate. I would want to hold all those who have lost someone - to comfort them, to just be with them, and let them know how precious their loved ones are. But we can’t do that.
So, Sandra and I have an idea. We plan to walk in memory of those who have died, in honour of those who grieve, in thanksgiving for those brilliant folk who have cared for loved ones and strangers, in gratitude, for those who have recovered, in admiration for those key workers who have supported us all and kept as many things flowing as possible, in praise of the NHS and in love for everyone who continues to work so hard to stop the spread of this virus.
100,000 lives, one metre for each one means we will walk 100km. I shall still be working, so we plan to do this during the week from February 4-10, squeezing as many kilometres in each day locally between appointments.
If you would like us to hold the name of a loved one in our hearts as we walk, please let me know.
This is not a fundraiser, it just replaces more words from me.
Bless you, Bless you, Bless you, As Ever,
Fr Marcus
For further information about the Costa Blanca Chaplaincy of the Anglican Church and to contact Fr Marcus Ronchetti visit http://costablancaanglicanchaplaincy.org