Giving thanks to those you admire

My mother was very keen on saying thank you. So Christmas was never over until all those letters had been written.

And we’re now in the season for institutional recognition and thanks.

Two women and two men, of advanced years, went recently from Sussex to Windsor Castle to receive the Maundy Money, just before Easter.

This is an ancient ceremony and Prince Charles stood in for the Queen in making the distribution. It isn’t a thank you, but those chosen to receive the special coins are generally being recognized for making a contribution to their local community or wider society.

Then as the summer progresses, thousands will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace. It is another opportunity to recognise a contribution to the common good that might be made in any number of ways.

I was fortunate to be invited to one of those garden parties.

I queued next to a taxi driver and his wife from south-east London.

He’d been invited because of his outstanding work in caring for children with special needs who used his taxi to get to school. Then later this summer things will be the other way round. The diocese of Chichester hosts a series of receptions in the Bishop’s Garden to say thank you to people we know who have contributed to the life of Sussex.

None of this has been possible during the lockdown, and we’ve noticed the absence of these events. That’s not because people have been asking why they haven’t happened or when the next one will be.

What we have missed is the benefit we get from hosting one of these thankyou events. Saying thank you to people you admire is one of the best events of the year. They give us an opportunity to stand back and enjoy many different examples of kindness and professionalism that really are truly amazing. I think that’s what seeing God will be like in heaven.