Hi folks, how are we all doing? We will be meeting on Zoom at 8.00pm on Sunday, i’ll send the link in the usual places, if you don’t normally get the link but want to join us then you would be very welcome.
I have had a few things buzzing around my head this week and it’s been difficult to know what to share and talk about. During our Christmas break, we went for a walk to St Mary’s lighthouse and we were stopped in our tracks by a scene at the nature reserve, we thought they were Starlings in mid murmuration, but I have it on good authority that they were actually Waders! Thanks Rob! If you haven’t watched the video, take a look now. There was something incredibly beautiful about watching these birds swirl and dance around like that.
I’m reading a book at the moment and the author talks about going on a trail on horseback in the United States. While they were out the horses didn’t look at the beautiful scenery or take much notice of their riders. Instead they were interacting with each other.
The author says “Tucker hated to be behind Zeus. Thunder loved to walk behind daisy. Rain despised Plato so much that she would kick him if he came up behind her, and Plato was restless if he wasn’t somewhere near Thunder. At every moment, the horses were turning their heads to the left and right, lifting or lowering their ears, angling their bodies on the trail, snorting, flicking their tails, and otherwise sending body language messages to the other horses.”
So where am I going with this?
A couple of things that strike me is that first of all the waders we saw were in unison as they danced around the sky. At times they split off into smaller groups and then at the end a third group join in and they were all in unison, rising and falling together.
There is something about being together as a community either in BFX, a local community, a church community or wherever, that when it works, it can be beautiful. We may be separated physically at the moment but eventually we will be back together again.
The second is that these horses interacted with each other, and they knew where they stood in relation to each other. Just as we humans do, we interact with each other, sometimes we interact a lot, and other times we have to take a step back. Sometime we struggle to get on with folks and that’s what community is about. My hope is that in this time we are learning to value the people in our lives, either the ones we see lots even if that’s online and those that we see less often because at the moment its just too much.
In these Covid times it has often been hard to connect with each other, not seeing people in person is difficult. I’m grateful that folks have found ways to stay connected, whether that is by joining in via zoom on Sunday nights or with our small groups, ‘lovely ladies’ and ‘naughty boys’. Others have found connectedness by focusing attention on maybe just a few people and that’s OK.
There is no right or wrong answer to the way we are handling these times, but be assured I can’t wait for us to be out of this time and for us to come together to metaphorically dance and hug!
Some questions:
Whats the funniest thing that’s happened when you have been on an online call?
Would you rather be a horse or a bird and why?
What’s your favourite animal and why?
What image of nature speaks to you about community?
How are you finding connectedness at the moment?
What are you learning about community in these times?
Rob Wylie is the founder of BeachcomberFX and guides its leadership team. He has worked in the North East for over 20 years and has vast experience from various roles he has held. He has a passion for Fresh Expressions of Church and Pioneer Ministry as well as beer, beaches and Miniature Schnauzers.