A pandemic of peace

I AM so looking forward to this coming Monday. Our community café at Hope House will be able to open its doors again and welcome people in, face to face. I can’t wait! It’s been a long time coming.

Many, many cafés, bars and restaurants will be open again; and, of course, we will be able to welcome friends and neighbours back into our homes. All very carefully and socially distanced obviously, but we can begin to come out of isolated hibernation and gather in community once more. Well, that’s what I think anyway. There will be some who are not yet ready to venture out, others who prefer solitude or privacy. But for many, spending time with neighbours, friends and family is truly life enhancing.

Some may feel a bit shy at first, a bit out of practice. Others will have to hold themselves back from hugging everyone they see.

For myself, this last year has hammered home what I think I already knew. People need people. We need each other, we need community. I believe, from the very beginning, God designed us to enjoy community; for us to bring the best out in each other by sharing life together. Each of our strengths and weakness can combine to create something more beautiful when we’re together than when we’re apart. The enforced separation of the last year or so has been necessary but coming back together is essential.

Care is needed of course. As we do this, we each need to look after one another, recognising our needs are all different. Some will be anxious, some excited – perhaps over-excited. We will all want to go at different paces. The challenge is to bear with one another in love. Is that wishful thinking? Probably.

Amidst the horrific tragedy of the pandemic there has been the ongoing strife and various kinds of protests. These things are not new. Protests for justice are necessary, protests based on prejudice and malicious rumour help no-one. Its not always easy to tell which is which. But living in peaceful, thriving community demands that we listen to each other even when we disagree; and even when we continue to disagree, deciding to live in peace anyway.

Nationally and globally we are still trying get this virus under control, it seems some good progress is finally being made in this country and should follow elsewhere. In the process many of us have learned that living well in community together is something that brings life and blessing to all, but will we continue to put that into practice?

Is it too much to dream that this pandemic of illness could be followed by a pandemic of peace? ■■