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A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley

Good morning.

Amongst the many people I am keeping in touch with during these days of lockdown, is a friend who works in a local hospital. Every other day or so I send her a message asking how she is doing, and if there is anything I can do for her? She always replies by thanking me and asking if there is anything she can pick up for me or perhaps someone I know in need on her way home. Given her pressurised role as a front-line medical practitioner I find her concern for others deeply inspiring. This evening, many of us may again stand outside our doors and clap for carers.

In my community we鈥檝e had pots and pans being banged enthusiastically, cow-bells being clanked, and even a few fireworks being let off. These expressions of gratitude for the women and men who are working so hard to care for the sick and dying, for those who maintain our daily lives by providing food in farm shops and supermarkets, and those who help keep essential services going are heart-felt. There鈥檚 a reference in the New Testament book of Hebrews to the writer鈥檚 awareness of a cloud of witnesses who provide an encouraging example to follow.

As I stand and applaud, I think about that present cloud of witnesses, and I am mindful too of those whose lives have been forever changed by the death of a loved one, or who live in fear either for themselves or for others they know.

Eternal God, I lift before you this day all who are anxious and particularly those who are alone. I give thanks for those who work in medical and caring professions, and for all who seek to support us in our daily lives.

Amen.