Winners and losers have emerged from the pandemic.
Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, is reported to have seen his financial worth balloon to an extraordinary £150 billion. Meanwhile others have tragically lost their jobs and now struggle to make ends meet. Thankfully finance is not life’s only measure. But the waves created by the pandemic have rocked most people’s boats.
As schools finally return fully in September, young people who were unable to sit public exams this summer have had a particularly torrid time. We’ve all witnessed the waves of confusion and exam-grading changes which have crashed over them, with parents and teachers sharing the turmoil. All young people have lost experiences this year. Thankfully many have also gained unforeseen 
opportunities. For all the young people in our communities returning to school or college this month – from the little ones nervously taking their first step into a Primary Reception ‘bubble’, to those starting university courses remotely or physically – we will all be wishing them safe passage and calmer waters through this term, I am sure.
Charities’ incomes are amongst those hard hit by the pandemic, and churches have inevitably been affected too, including our own. Our church communities have found new ways in the pandemic to thrive spiritually and serve others. But normal fund-raising events, important for maintaining our church buildings and the spiritual presence they represent, have not been possible. Our continuing weekly video services might be accessible and contemporary, and helpfully supplement church-based worship which continues to be challenging, but there’s no collection plate!
I’m too British to want to mention money. But as we go into this autumn, I will give this flag a wave. I’m hugely grateful, with the PCCs, to all who generously support our churches practically or financially. For those for whom finances are tight, please ignore this. For those for whom it is less so, and who appreciate the church’s presence and may wish to support it more, the ‘Parish Giving Scheme’ gives an easy route for doing so regularly. Just speak to a warden, treasurer or PCC member, in confidence if you wish.
We’re not all Jeff Bezos-s (thankfully, perhaps!), though who knows which of our young people may be budding entrepreneurs. September sees Payhembury’s patronal festival for St Mary – a woman at the bottom of the pile, yet who saw ‘winning’ and ‘worth’ through a different lens.
So I will finish with some glorious and subversive words from her song, our ‘Magnificat’:
“My soul magnifies the Lord… for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant… he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”
