10th June

I managed to get at my hospital emails by the very slow computer in the Chaplains’ Office, for the first time yesterday. Scrolling though them to clear what I did not need made for strange reading as it took me right back to the start when we were all wondering what Coronavirus would mean, and the hospital was beginning to understand what was required. There was almost an innocence to the early emails when we were all hopeful. The days before we did not have the most deaths in Europe. As you scrolled back you could see the change in tone as it became a way of life, and the bewildering list of changes that came something to be expected. Much like the state of schools just now. How does a Headteacher write a letter that is clear to all kinds of parents, explains everything easily, and yet covers all the requirements, legal and otherwise, and also represents the welcoming feel that most of our schools do so well? We are all a little wiser now, and many of us sadder, but for all the frustration that can come from not being able to do many things, to trying to keep up with the changes which often do not seem to be very logical, to being desperate to get to work again, it is important to be positive. The gospel today is about being salt to the earth and light to the world, and no-one can be either if we are negative about the future. A good question for us is, “How or who can I help today? Who needs my support?’