Way back in the mists of time, when I was a student, I remember getting a church hall ready for a parent and toddler group.
The young mums (in those days there were no stay-at-home dads) began to drift in and they asked if it might be possible to turn the piano to face the wall since they were worried the wee ones would drop the lid on their fingers.
Being eager to please, I said: ‘No problem!’ and began turning the instrument while all those who were there went into the kitchen. Somehow, the piano caught on a floorboard and tipped over. I didn’t jump back quite far enough and although my left foot was ‘sore’ I fixed the piano before hobbling to a neighbouring room to do my version of Edvard Munch’s painting, ‘The Scream’.
The episode led to a visit to the local A&E where I was asked what had happened. “I dropped a piano on my foot” I said and the otherwise very sympathetic nurse, couldn’t help smiling. She sent in another of her colleagues to ask the same question. They too found it hard to suppress their amusement. The doctor’s reaction, however, was a classic. When I gave him the same answer about what had happened– he didn’t smile at all. He just nodded. Then offered this advice before leaving the room: “If I was you, I’d take up the violin.”
That’s by way of introduction to broaching the subject of what you might be doing in these days of lockdown.
There are all sorts of suggestions being made such as learning to play the piano (or violin – or whatever) or learning to speak another language. Others suggest now is a good time to get the garden sorted, or to catalogue all the family photographs. The list goes on. And on.
For me personally, I have been trying to work out how to record videos to act as a substitute for the Sunday morning worship we’re not able to have at present. The learning curve has been, and is, incredibly steep. I have new-found skills in filming, editing and sound, as well as an idea now of all the licences people need when they are posting things online – even when what is being posted is just a church service.
And believe me you need lots of licences: to cover the music and the words of hymns, as well as the musicians who play and sing, plus another again for any visual ‘stuff’ that might be borrowed from elsewhere and used in online worship.
This is not a cheap alternative we are talking about – and that’s before a start is made on equipment. That said, I haven’t got that far. I simply use my mobile and the better half’s tripod.
What has been surprising for me is how much I have actually enjoyed the challenge. There is no way any of my efforts will ever win any prizes, but I have managed to produce something that while definitely not brilliant, has been acceptable.
The truth is that in normal circumstances, I simply would not have had the time to devote to experimenting with technology. Other priorities would have weighed in and pushed any such notions aside. And the other side of the coin, many would have seen it as a waste of time anyway. What use could there be for virtual church when people are not coming to the real thing?
In just a few short weeks, how the tables have turned.
In a foolish moment when this lockdown started, I began posting a two-minute morning thought on Facebook, and all these weeks later I’m still at it – with anywhere between 650 and over 1000 people listening in daily.
The Sunday services are averaging about 1000 people. There’s no way that number would ever cross the threshold on a Sunday morning. We just don’t have the room for them!
There are far more challenges that still need to be faced, such as finding ways to encourage a sense of community and belonging among all the people who check in from all over the world. As well as how to build on these new links in the future.
For now though, my lockdown learning has opened doors and enabled me to meet and engage with all sorts of people of all ages, which is brilliant.
But as I celebrate how much more bearable such online activity has made this time for me, I am so very, very conscious of all those who do not have access to the internet.
I know there are always phone calls – and phone calls are good.
But not being able to see others and to see too, what they are up to, can make isolation even more isolating.
As the lockdown continues, we really do need to spare a thought for neighbours and friends who are not online. Can you think of ways to chat more often? By phone? Over the fence?
However we are spending our time, let’s not allow a tough situation to be any tougher. Let’s keep looking out for each other.
The Right Rev Susan Brown is minister of Dornoch Cathedral and the former moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
