The coronavirus pandemic forced the postponement of the Archbishop of Canterbury's visit to our diocese last year.But Lambeth Palace and the Diocese of Guildford have been working on agreeing a suitable weekend for the Rt Reverend Justin Welby to fulfil his visit later in 2021. At the moment the potential weekend for his visit is September 24-26. We will confirm these dates and where he will be visiting once we know.The special emphasis of the Archbishop's visit will be on mission and evangelism.
Even though in many ways life is simpler in an extended lockdown, it can make some things more difficult to deal with and lead to tensions and pressures that are harder to get round and resolve. Whether it is trying to care for an elderly relative, getting to see a doctor or dentist, or maintaining friendships and relationships - the inability to talk face to face and connect in person, other than by electronic means, can lead to frustrations, misunderstanding and leave us feeling isolated. As I was struggling with some of these things last week my daughter shared this family WhatsApp message about my six year old granddaughter:Merry was on a whole school assembly on Google Classroom when the Headteacher’s feed dropped out. The Deputy Head asked if any of the children want to pray. <span style="font-size: 1rem;">Merry put her digital hand up straight away and prayed.</span>“Father God, thank you for our school. Thank you for all that we have and all that we get to do. Help us remember your love is so high we can’t get over it (long pause),and so low we can’t get under it (long pause),and so wide we can’t get round it!Jesus you have wonderful love. Amen.”It sometimes takes a childlike confidence and faith to remind us of what we already know. That whatever the situation, however unfamiliar we are with the circumstances and however isolated it makes us feel, we have a God whose love and resourcefulness is bigger than any of the unfamiliar lockdown challenges we face. As the psalmist says in Psalm 108 v 4: “For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds”. It just requires us to have the faith to sometimes stop striving to resolve the situation alone, to put our “digital hand up” and to pray - to the one who has wonderful love! Peter Coles, Diocesan Secretary
