Paul Fletcher

Sunday Thoughts Paul Fletcher

These Sunday Thoughts were delivered as sermons in online worship over the weeks immediately before, and throughout, the lockdown until just very recently, as we begin to open up again. It is presumed among many that a second wave of infection may happen, possibly in the winter. The reflections are based on the Sunday Gospel readings provided from Year A of the Three Year Cycle Lectionary. They were set within the thematic collection of readings. As the lockdown closed our church buildings, I have suggested in various forums that there are several manifestations of the 'Corpus Christi'. There is, of course the Sacrament, and there is the historic body of Jesus, but we tend to forget that the community of the faithful is also defined as the Body of Christ. How should the community have been fed spiritually over the period when churches have been closed? Communally, pastorally and spiritually, this has been left to a number of means. Snail mail and the telephone are the most traditional. Email, all kinds of social media and conference apps have been central, and registered hospital chaplains have been the face-to-face ministry. For the rest of us, we have tried to minister to our congregations, but, in the virtual world across the internet, we have preached, prayed, praised, blessed, absolved and consecrated, as well as offered some form of pastoral care. Consecration however has been the focal point of discussion. But The Body of Christ continues, and so it must have been fed, during this time. These reflections do not answer all these issues and opportunities, but some of them do touch on the possible theological development. One source of spiritual sustenance has been prayer. I approach that sphere more directly in my first work, A Little Book About Prayer: A New Sacrament. If there is to be a second wave, or further future occasions when the church buildings and face-to-face fellowship has to close down again, I would like to propose that prayer, personal and virtual, needs to be the ongoing sustenance of the fellowship of Christ. Even if there is no further viral disruption, surely the church, like so many others in the world, should be looking for a new normal. These reflections were written at the same time that I was delivering daily prayer online accompanied by some devotional thoughts about prayer. This is now available as an e-book, and very shortly in paperback by on-demand printing, which are offered in the same way this book will be, through Amazon Kindle. While many of these reflections will have a direct thought from the circumstances of the pandemic of the Covid-19 virus, that won't always be. They may reflect the situation, or the Gospel, or both, wherever appropriate. The pandemic developed a number of related issues of our time. Some offshoots of public concern are touched on among these Sunday Thoughts. The ecological problems of our time, especially deforestation and global warming, are thought to be a cause of the pandemic. Within Church circles, there has been an ongoing discussion about the Sacrament and online services, including consecration, and how, if and what should the church do via social media.