Canon Jo asked me to write this blog, she loves gardens but
what about something different? Well, I like gardens, but I love music.
Some of you will remember that for a big Doug birthday we held
a concert at All Saints, the guest musician being the saxophonist David
Jackson, who I first heard in 1970 on the first Van der Graaf album. I didn’t
understand it, but I loved it. It hit home, and I still love their work.
So yesterday we were zooming the Family Eucharist on the
internet, and I expected to simply wish everyone Peace at the appropriate time.
But into my mind came the title of that first album “The least we can do is
wave to each other”, so having wished everyone peace I quoted the title. What a
wonderful set of happy faces suddenly came up on the screen – peace, love,
connectedness, care, all felt mediated by the wave shared.
The LP title comes from a phrase coined by the 20th
century British artist John Minton: “We are all awash in a sea of blood and the
least we can do is wave to each other”. It speaks to our present times, doesn’t
it, with death tolls announced daily in our land and across the world, and
ongoing concerns about the further spread of this virus. We are awash, and
perhaps more aware of our common human plight than ever.
The interconnectedness through social media, the caring
gesture, the 8.00pm clap and noise for our essential workers, are all part of
the waving, the sharing of human engagement and solidarity in our present
situation. And our faith has a crucified Saviour whose suffering radiates to us
across the centuries, an eternal statement of God’s sacrificial love, and the
empty tomb brings us to the hope of a new future for us and for all people.
Rev Doug Loveridge
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