Guest Post: Coming to grips with a COVID Christmas

Esther Prior is the Vicar of St John's Egham, and a contributor to a forthcoming book of essays by evangelical Anglicans for IVP. This blog post represents her own views and experience - we think she's got some great ideas!

A Vicar’s tale of finding creativity in tiny solution spaces

I have been encouraging my Staff Team to think about what their ‘Covid Scripture’ might be. What is it from the word of God that is sustaining them for life and godliness at this unsettling time? It has been encouraging to share God’s fortifying word with one another each week. It got me thinking. What would my ‘Covid Christmas Scripture’ would be? Joshua 3 comes to mind. There is something about ‘we have not been this way before’ but ‘God goes before us’ that is powerfully captured in that story.

The Israelites were going somewhere where they had never been before, but God goes before them - God providing the Levites to guide them there and establishing Joshua’s leadership. It was God who made Joshua a great leader. In a season when leadership challenges are so great and a time when we are leading our people where we’ve never been before, it’s so reassuring to remember that leadership is a gift from God. He will go before us. He will guide. He will give us the needful gifts of leadership.

Then there is the miracle of the crossing itself – one many come back to again and again. It looked impossible. It looked dangerous. But trust demanded they step in before what it looked like changed! And God proved himself trustworthy. As we step into the unknown – in this case a Covid Christmas – it is good to remember the faithfulness of God in the past to Joshua as he led God’s people where they had never been before…

As it was for many, the days following 17 March were a whirlwind of activity for our team as we morphed overnight into an online church. After the relentless pace on shifting sands, it was such a timely relief to get away for 10 days at the beginning of August. Never have I been so determined to switch off and to rest and by God’s grace, I managed to. I came back to the challenge of planning the autumn term. Not only mapping out what our hybrid existence would look like, but also beginning to put together our Christmas programme. I had what I now refer to as my ‘Covid Moment’. I'm not one to panic – in fact, I love a challenge and tend to take things in my stride. But this task sent me into a tailspin! As I sat and stared at my computer screen and that empty Autumn Programme, which included Advent and Christmas, I just couldn't see how it could possible take shape into something remotely life-giving. 

I seemed to be frozen in place for a while, fixated on the cognitive dissonance I felt at the very idea of Carols by Candlelight without singing. I became stuck and just couldn't move past that. The tiny solution space that we find ourselves in felt like a straitjacket and I just couldn’t find any wriggle room. So I asked my Prayer Quartet to pray for me...

I thought I'd start by thinking through the things that we can ‘control’ that won’t be subject to changing guidelines…

I am passionate about creating ‘sacred spaces’ outside – I call it ‘ministry to those who pass by’. I think there are lots of people who are searching, who even have ‘spiritual’ thoughts but are nowhere near being ready to engage with Christians or with a Church in any overt way. So we use art to proclaim the gospel without words, hoping to draw out those who might one day want a conversation about it all. We are blessed with a beautiful churchyard and talented artist and so we have Art Exhibitions outside. We can still do that. We have a Nativity outside. We can do that as well. We have Christmas lights inside and outside. If I have to climb the trees myself to put the lights up - we going to have Christmas lights this year.

As I began to think about what we can still do – the solution space seemed to expand a little and creative juices started to flow. I began to see possibilities and started having fruitful conversations with people energised by the encouragement to think about what we can do.  We started to think about the things that we usually do that we would love to do – even if they have to be expressed differently.

A conversation with our Children's Pastor helped us to land on an idea about how we can do a children’s Nativity this year. With Plan A, B & C. Not the same – but actually quite exciting. This really shifted me from the paralysed cannot-do mind-set that I had got myself stuck in to being energised with the possibilities of what we can do even in the limited solution space that we find ourselves in. So we can have a Carols by Candlelight. With Plan A, B & C. Not the same – but actually quite exciting. We can have an Alternative Carols Service. With Plan A, B & C. Not the same – but actually quite exciting.

And so with a changed mind-set, I started looking for new possibilities.  There are empty shops in our High Street and we are negotiating with the Town Team to put Christmas displays in some of them – again to tell the story to those who pass by. At a time when people will feel like too much of what is precious is being stripped away, we want to draw attention once again to that night when the birth of a boy in the backstreets of Bethlehem changed the course of history. And maybe have conversations about how he can change the course of our lives for the better even now…

We are also thinking of having a ‘Community Sing’ - similar idea to clapping for the NHS. Designate one evening where we invite the community to stand outside our houses with a candle. At 8pm we will start to sing together ‘O come, all ye faithful’ maybe led on Facebook Live or similar. We want to offer our community opportunities to experience hope in this season of adversity.

As soon as I shifted my eyes from what we can't do to what we can do, I found all was not lost after all! And so we have Christmas Celebration planned and one that we can adapt should circumstances change. We can scale up or down – but still have some of the wonder-full landmarks that help us to celebrate the birth of our Lord, while hopefully holding out a candle of hope to our wider community. After all, pandemic or not – hope was born that night.

For to us a child is born,

    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9.6-7)

Limited solution spaces have the potential to be creative spaces, offering opportunities to tell the story of the birth of our Saviour.

We hope you found that blog post helpful! Below are a few resources which we think could help in thinking through some of what Esther is describing. Phil Knox's 'Story Bearer' would be a great book to work through as a church thinking about evangelism. 'Healthy Faith' is packed with perspectives on what COVID does to our normal rhythms - with inspiration on every page. We've also got a few Advent devotionals - do get in touch (email address below!) if you want to buy bundle for an online or dispersed small group this term.