‘National Day of Reflection’
Good morning,
This is the first anniversary of what has become known as the first national lockdown across the United Kingdom. On Monday 23 March last year, there were addresses by the First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon and the Prime Minister of the UK Boris Johnson laying out the nature of new restrictions. In essence the population was told to stay at home unless it was essential to go out for work, for medical reasons, to purchase food or for one period of exercise up to an hour once a day. This was a culmination of constraints which had grown almost daily from early March: staying at home if anyone had symptoms, the cancelling of concerts and theatre, the closing of offices, factories, cinemas, museums and galleries, the postponing of sporting occasions, the moving of education online, the ending of visits to patients in hospital and residents in care homes. Places of worship were closed: prayer, meditation and worship moved on to zoom, Teams and livestream. Countless other areas of life were restrained by the lockdown.
Its purpose was to suppress the virus, protect the NHS from being overwhelmed and save lives. Of course it had other unintended consequences: the lessening of medical services for other aspects of our health; an increase in isolation particularly affecting many people with mental health difficulties; and a dramatic downturn in economic activity. The coronavirus has had huge direct consequences in the UK and across the world. As I write, about 126,000 people in the UK have died from Covid-19, and 2.7 million worldwide, each death a private loss to family and friends, joining the experience of those bereaved in any way. Its indirect consequences are less easily quantifiable, but hugely significant, and ongoing. In the University, classes will resume but only online for most after the spring vacation, exams and graduations will be online, research activity remains significantly affected, and there is a broad range of scenarios to plan around for the future. We don’t know when we will be able to gather freely in lecture-rooms and labs, boutiques and the Byre, chapels and cafés.
I’ve been thinking back to that day a year ago. It was a Monday, my day off, and I played golf for the last time for three months. I also met a couple over skype to prepare with them for their wedding in September in St Salvator’s Chapel. In the end, they were married by me on the day they’d planned, but on Castle Sands. I went to Morrisons in the afternoon for the week’s shopping, and noted later there were three things I wanted which were all gone – flour, sunflower oil and butternut squash. I’m pretty sure there were no toilet rolls either. Did I guess that in a year’s time we’d be in a pretty similar lockdown situation? Probably not. If I’ve learned anything this year it’s to stop using the word Surely, as in “Surely things will be back to normal by…”
I took one photograph that day, on the Jubilee golf course, of a bird, perhaps a curlew. Nature has undoubtedly offered comfort to us over this past year, in the turning of the seasons, the sound of birdsong, the colour of blossom, autumn leaves, the covering of pristine snow, and the reappearance of spring daffodils.
Anniversaries are a time for generalisations, and I’ve offered a few already this morning. But stories are usually more fun. Here are one or two stories from the last year. My mother was telling me recently that she was queuing up on the pavement for a takeaway latte not for from her house. When she finally got to the café door she discovered it was card payment only and she only had cash with her. But immediately, the man behind her in the queue said he’d pay for her coffee. A simple act of kindness.
And then there’s the story told me by a student who left her accommodation in halls of residence this time last year and couldn’t return. Her belongings were packed up for her, but when she returned in September she found a box was missing. Eventually it turned up but one item was still missing. It was her Bible, a copy I had given her. Did the packer suddenly have an urge to explore the wisdom of the lively oracles of God? Or assume that the Bible belonged to the room to be left for future students? Either way, I hope it does someone good.
As we have shared in the Chaplaincy newsletter, the University will take part in today’s UK-wide National Day of Reflection. I will be leading a short event (15 minutes) livestreamed from St Salvator’s Chapel at 11.40 am, with a few words from Professor Sally Mapstone, Principal and Vice Chancellor and from the Co-President of the Co-Existence Initiative, music by Robert Schumann, and a poem by the Scottish Makar, Jackie Kay.
After the event, we invite you to go outside (or just pop your head out of the window) for a few moments of reflection or prayer remembering those who are no longer with us, and in collective hope for a brighter future. A bell will be rung from St Salvator’s Tower to mark the end of the minute’s silence.
As part of the day, the university will mark the Marie Curie Moment of Reflection, by lighting St Salvator’s Quad in yellow.
All welcome to view the livestream from the Worship webpage under the heading Special Events at 11.40 am – and it will be available afterwards as well.
Look out for further reflections on this past year from the Chaplaincy team over coming days.
Yours,
Donald.
Revd Dr Donald MacEwan
Chaplain