'Distances still remain for us to overcome in 2021' - Rev Canon Sam Corley, Rector of Leeds

2020 is a year I guess most of us will be pleased to see the back of, even if we will continue to live with its impact for many years to come - but let’s not move on too fast, writes the Rev Canon Corley.

Given all of the demands and challenges we have faced, and the losses and uncertainty we have navigated, I wonder if it is worth pausing for a moment to reflect on what we have experienced and what we have learnt about ourselves and about others.

We have adapted to different rhythms and routines; we have learnt to use new technology that most of us had never heard of before March; we’ve adjusted to working differently; we’ve found ways to keep in touch with family and friends, and we have been reminded of the benefits of getting to know folk nearby.

And, of course, many of us have done all that while facing illness, bereavement, pressure at work, uncertainty, rapid changes to our plans and significant challenges to our mental health.

So I wonder what we have learnt or discovered through it all? No doubt, there will be things we miss and long to return to as soon as we can.

There will be other things that used to feel so important to us but which we have realised we can leave behind and move on from.

We may have discovered joy and value in things or places that we do not want to lose as we establish a ‘new normal’.

And there may be other opportunities and possibilities that have emerged that we hope will shape the future for us as soon as the restrictions lift. That’s already quite a lot for 2021!

If there is one thing I hope for it 2021, it is that the distances between us will be reduced. One of the things I am most looking forward to is being able to meet with other people.

While it is nothing compared to the huge challenges some others have faced, I have found keeping socially distant from people I am around unnatural and uncomfortable, and there are far too many folk that I haven’t seen in the flesh for almost a year.

But there are other distances to overcome. At the same time as we are seeing all the ways that the world is becoming smaller and smaller, and that what happens in one part of the globe quickly affects us all, there seems to be an increasing tendency to push away, blame and exclude others and to see other people as the cause of all our problems.

Maybe that is how we respond to pressure, uncertainty, fear and anxiety, but even if it makes us feel better in the short term, I cannot see how it will turn out well in the long-run given how interconnected we are.

My hope is that in 2021 we will find ways to better express that we need one another, and that our flourishing is tied up with the flourishing of everyone else we share this planet with.

That may mean that some things have to change, but we have seen how adaptable we are, that if we really need to do something we can, that we can come together in response to something that is bigger than us individually.

So it would be wonderful if 2021 is the year when we are able to put some of those lessons into action and overcome the distances between us.

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