Jane Maffett

‘Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good – His love endures for ever.’ Psalm 118: 1

Steve’s reassuring ‘Thought for the Day’ yesterday was based on Psalm 46 & I want to reflect about VE day and the ending of the war.

Tea-Timers is our Friday afternoon drop in café for older people, suspended as everything else is at the moment. But this is one church activity that does not easily lend itself to Zoom, Facebook or WhatsApp.  We do have a Tea-Timers social WhatsApp group but only some of our regulars can participate, and on this we share news, jigsaw and bird pics, and serious and cute videos! But several members don’t have internet, smartphones or a simple mobile. So we are contacting by phone on an individual basis, printing Thoughts for the Day and holding a phone near a speaker so an individual can listen to the Sunday Service. We miss one another but are thankful that one way or another we stay connected.

To make up for not having our planned VE day meeting, the team decided to collect memories of VE day, or just the war, and this was combined in a booklet to share, you can see it here.  The conversations we had on this subject were so encouraging and gave some different perspectives on coping in a crisis.

There were family separations as they are now - one lady was not only evacuated from London (and her parents) for most of the war, but not even kept with her siblings – that’s years of separation, not the 8 weeks we have had so far, and with limited communication.

People could often not support family or friends who were ill, then because petrol was rationed or because people were wounded in service abroad, now because hospitals and care homes are locked down.

There are differences though – food supply is still pretty plentiful (no rationing) though finances may be tight. People could meet in pubs and go to the cinema. Churches were open for services.

So difficult though these times are I am reminded of this Bible passage – to count my blessings and give thanks to God.

Prayer – Lord help me be thankful, even when things are hard, and know that Your love is endless.

Prayer Request – For the older members of our community, particularly those who attend Teatimers. Pray that they may experience God’s presence when they feel alone, and know the love and support of others through this crisis and always.