Western Morning News (Saturday)
Pandemic uncovers the heart of communities
Crisis is bringing out our best, says KEITH ROSSITER
AVICAR can’t very well sit idle on Easter Sunday, so the Rev Andy Dodwell, vicar of Newport and Bishop’s Tawton in North Devon, joined his neighbours to sing along with a broadcast of the Welsh soprano Katherine Jenkins.
When the music finished, the vicar and his wife Carolyn joined the rest of the street in singing a few songs themselves.
“At the end, we said: ‘That was fun!’” he says.
Then someone said: “Shall we do it again next week?” And so Old School Road’s Doorstep Church was born.
Sometimes Mr Dodwell picks up his saxophone to accompany the singing, which ranges from the sacred to the secular.
Sometimes he’ll say a few words about the songs they’ve sung as a kind of impromptu sermon.
“It’s lovely – a bit bonkers, really, but I think it’s helping people.”
One woman has been unable to get to church for four years because of health problems, but she has been able to attend Barnstaple’s Doorstep Church during lockdown.
Across the Westcountry, communities have been dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic in their own unique ways, but always with a focus on protecting the most vulnerable.
“The sense of community and getting to know neighbours and singing is good for the soul,” say Jane and Nigel, Mr Dodwell’s neighbours.
For some, lockdown has been a liberation of sorts. But behind many a front door it can be a struggle.
Coastal towns in particular depend heavily on tourism, and thousands of people had got through the winter and were just hanging on for the start of the holiday season at Easter when the pandemic struck.
Many did not qualify for the government’s furlough scheme because they are on zero-hours contracts.
In Newquay, the charity Disc has seen its workload explode. But Monique Collins, who runs Disc, says local people and businesses have been very generous.
They used to cook meals for the town’s homeless, most of whom have been housed at the Monkey
Tree campsite by Cornwall Council.
Since lockdown, they have been providing about 170 meals a day, along with food parcels, clothing, and money for gas and electricity.
A new wave of volunteers has come in to help, including three
chefs from Lusty Glaze. Fee’s Food in nearby Rock has started a community kitchen initiative, and sends 100 meals a week to Disc.
The Rev Lee Chantler, curate of St Michael’s Church in the centre of Newquay, takes to his bicycle nightly to deliver meals for Disc.
It’s a cross-denominational effort – the town’s food bank committee is chaired by the Rev Clare Anderson, the local Methodist minister.
In Buckfastleigh, on the southern fringe of Dartmoor, the Rev Tom Benson, team rector at St Luke’s Church, says younger people have stepped up to the plate.
About 70 of the older people who used to form the core of the volunteering effort have had to self-isolate, but there is no shortage of new helpers. Demand for the town’s food bank has increased seven-fold, and parcels are now delivered to homes. The operation is run out of St Luke’s, where Mr Benson and his curate, the Rev Laura McAdam, are part of a 90-strong team.
This week they made 45 to 50 food parcel deliveries and a similar number of medical deliveries. They also deliver books and puzzles.
Those in need include some who are working, but are low-paid. Because it’s now harder to shop for bargains, their food bills are higher than usual.
Donations from local businesses and individuals have rolled in.
“People have rediscovered their neighbours – and have discovered that they like them, in a lot of cases,” Mr Benson says. “A lot of new friendships are being made.”
In Torbay, restaurants may be closed, but some have kept the fires burning to cook meals for families in need. Chefs and restaurant staff have been supporting the “Food 4 Torbay” project run by RE4orm, a community interest company set up last year by Katie Cavanna.
Across the Westcountry, communities large and small have schemes to support those self-isolating for whatever reason, who may be without friends, family or other support networks. Stories of the work they do, collected by the Rural Services Network, help to share ideas.
Broadclyst in Devon includes among its volunteers qualified counsellors and a reiki healer offering remote support to those feeling overwhelmed as the impact of Covid-19 begins to hit home.
Volunteers at the Solomon Browne Memorial Hall in Mousehole have been delivering “Bags of smiles”, including pictures by children from Mousehole Primary School, puzzles, books, soap and hand cream.
The kindness is not confined to rural areas. Charlotte Holloway, cofounder of Plymouth’s community action, says: “This pandemic has shown how we all share a common bond, that we rely on each other and have to support each other in times of crisis.”
The Bishop of Truro, the Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen, says: “In many respects a church is only as good as the sum of its people.” In Cornwall, he says, you can see them at work in thousands of small, local acts of volunteering as people help their friends and local communities to make it through these difficult times.
“It’s no surprise that we are all presented with many opportunities to love our neighbours in the midst of a global tragedy.
“Our clergy and parish leaders have been very enterprising and across the diocese there are networks of people making phone calls to those who may be feeling isolated, but who do not have access to laptops, tablets or smartphones,” Bishop Philip says.
People – including many who might not normally go to church on a Sunday – are connecting online for virtual services and worship conducted by the local clergy.