Logo

 

Banner Image:   Baptist-Times-banner-2000x370-
Template Mode:   Baptist Times
Icon
    Post     Tweet


In the year of plague
 

A poem, by Gary Clayton 


Covid19


In the year of plague, in the year of COVID,
Like seeking our Daily Bread day-by-day,
Each day we looked to God to provide,
Each day we looked to God, to survive.
Each day we shopped to live, not lived to shop.

In the year of grace, in the year of COVID,
We didn’t ‘Give up church’ for Lent, 
But learned to ‘do’ church differently, 
Discovered that buildings close and meetings end,
But the Church – the Body, not the building, goes on.

In the year of contact, in the year of COVID,
Email, phone, letters, Skype, Zoom, 
Messenger, WhatsApp, Microsoft Meetings, 
These manmade messengers came into their own,
Carrying our voices, words, thoughts and prayers 
To the homes of those – like us – forced to endure, 
Stay at home, or sally forth briefly,
Hoping against hope that all would be well.

In the year of trial, in the year of COVID,
Some comfort ate, and some got fit,
Some went for a walk – or a run.
Some sofa-surfed on crisp-strewn couches,
Some grew their hair, while others grew apart.

In the year of fear, in the year of COVID,
We saw far fewer cars, and even less people,
Covered our noses and concealed our mouths. 
Felt dread when we coughed, 
Our eyes watered, or we felt unwell. 

In the year, in the year, in the year 2020,
We lost friends. Lost family. Lost contact,
But gained something too.
But when the time’s ended,
And when the plague, the epidemic, the pandemic,
The outbreak ends – will we have learned? 
Will we have changed? 
Or will we just… go back to normal? 

 


Image | Adam Niescioruk | Unsplash


Gary Clayton is married to Julie and the father of Christopher (16) and Emma (13). He worships at Hayes Lane Baptist Church and is Copywriter and Editor at Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) – www.maf-uk.org – whose 138 aircraft bring the love of Christ to 26 developing countries




 
Baptist Times, 17/12/2020
    Post     Tweet
The urgency of reconciliation
A reflection by Dr Rula Khoury Mansour, founder of the Nazareth Center for Peace Studies, following her presentation at the recent Lausanne Congress
COP29 - climate loss and damage, and historical injustice
We cannot talk about climate loss and damage without reflecting the damage of the past - and that means acknowledging the impact of slavery, the industrial revolution and colonialism, writes Israel Olofinjana
Prayers and a reflection for COP29
Dave Gregory, convenor of the Baptist Union Environment Network (BUEN), offers a reflection and prayers points for COP29, which runs from 11-21 November in Baku, Azerbaijan
Key themes around church planting
Alex Harris shares observations on church planting nationally in the UK. All speak to a growing flexibility and agility amongst churches, leaders and Christians to reach people, grow disciples and start new churches in the ways they are needed, he writes
Collaboration, and our worship of Jesus
Notes from the two keynote addresses from Dave Ferguson and Alex Harris at the first Everyone Everywhere national conference on 8 October
Israel-Palestine: I can’t keep up
Baptist church member David Nelson has travelled to Israel and the West Bank on three occasions in the past 24 months. He offers this reflection on events in the region
     The Baptist Times 
    Posted: 18/11/2024
    Posted: 14/10/2024
    Posted: 02/10/2024
    Posted: 22/07/2024
    Posted: 07/05/2024
    Posted: 12/02/2024
    Posted: 22/12/2023
    Posted: 16/12/2023