Fr. Tom, like all the London clergy, received this letter or Ad Clerum from Bishop Sarah. It is a message of loving support for all the Diocese, priests and congregations, and he shares it with you.

I had hoped that I would have been on holiday in Canada during June but I find myself here in London and like many of you missing the opportunity to get away. The coronavirus pandemic has transformed our lives. Each one of us have been impacted in different ways depending on our state of health and the needs of our household but we have all had to adapt with very little warning to a situation that we’ve never faced before and which is changing all the time. 

As clergy our hearts overflow with love and concern for the people of our congregations, parishes and chaplaincies. I have seen you, in the months of lockdown, find creative ways to serve those people in incredibly difficult circumstances. Whether this has involved new ways of running food banks, delivering essentials to those who are isolating, setting up systems of virtual pastoral care, encouraging a sense of home as sacred space or moving your congregational worship online, I and the College of Bishops are deeply grateful to you for your courage and commitment. Thank you. 

Meanwhile we are living with our own anxieties and vulnerabilities, our questions about how long this will go on and what challenges it will bring next - and our exhaustion. I know that you must be exhausted and I know that you must feel vulnerable and at times afraid, because as I said in my message to the children of the Diocese some weeks ago, I have been afraid too – and I admit to you now, I am sometimes exhausted. Who would not be, in a situation as traumatic and uncertain as this? Hilary Ison, who works with the project called ‘Tragedies and Congregations’, suggested in a recent blog post that Covid 19 is ‘the trauma that keeps giving - an earthquake with after-shocks’. She says that as we navigate our way through it ‘We are like medieval cartographers who, when they came to the edges of the known world, simply wrote, “here be dragons”’. She explains that we’re now at the stage in response to this tragedy where energy levels are low, frustration is high, disillusionment is common and we’re struggling to know what the next phase of the ‘new normal’ will look like and whether we have any agency in shaping it. And perhaps we’re also questioning our leaders and their decision-making. 

The gradual re-opening of our church buildings will for some bring relief and for others a fresh set of anxieties. Each of your personal circumstances is different, each church has different resources, each community has different needs. We will support you – I will support you – in the difficult decisions you make in coming weeks. I have a particular concern for those clergy who are shielding – either on your own behalf or because of the needs of your household. If you are not able to reopen your buildings yet you will not be judged to be failing or falling short – we need you to stay safe and well and to care for those you love. And we need to learn from your experience because you have new things to teach us about what it means to be human and to depend on God in a time of great uncertainty and vulnerability. 

Over the last year we listened to over 6,000 Londoners as we discerned with you what God is calling us to in the next stage of our ministry. To be there for every Londoner to encounter the Love of God in Christ Jesus. To deepen our discipleship, to be creative in growing the church, to build more compassionate communities and to help young people connect. These ambitions still hold but as we go forward we need to see them in the context of Covid 19, and where the spirit is moving. 

We will continue to find this phase in the life of our world deeply challenging. I and the other bishops will continue to pray for you and to support you in your lives and ministries. If there are ways in which we can do this which we haven’t yet offered please find a way of letting us know, whether you simply send us an email or tell your Area Dean who will pass your message on to us. We will do our best to respond quickly and well. Thank you again for your ministry. 

May the Lord Bless you and Keep you. May the lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you and give you His Peace. Amen. 

Bishop Sarah, June 2020