Religious Education

 

Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door I will come in. 

During a recent Google meeting, one of the presenters apologised that he was presenting from his walk-in wardrobe, because he had three children (all doing remote learning at home) and his wife was working from home. The walk-in wardrobe was the only quiet space left!! Then he said, “We are all good, because we have many rooms in our house.”

Without meaning to, he transported my mind far away from the online land of Google Meets to a scripture quote we are all familiar with… “There are many rooms in my Father’s house.” (John 14:2). It just struck me as being relevant right now. As each one of us is being asked to further isolate ourselves and interrupt our physical conversations with others and stay home, it is understandable if we feel a sense of isolation and loneliness. British poet and author David Whyte, in his poem Everything is Waiting for You, reminds us that “Your great mistake is to act the drama as if you were alone.”

We are not alone; our ongoing presence within our communities is strong. Our three school communities and our parish community, while they sound and look different, are strong. Being in communion with others, being in community with others gives us life so that we can bring life to others. While we cannot gather, as we would normally do, we come together in our own homes. We come together in our own way in the companionship of others through prayer, through muffled conversations through windows, in the delight of seeing the face of others on computer screens in Google Meets.

Whyte’s poem evokes many emotions and thoughts. When I reflect on it I am reminded that the ordinary things that surround us every day are filled with wonder and awe. The rooms in our homes are where we are formed and where we start to make connections with others. Rather than being a time of isolation, it can be seen as a time of reflection.  The ‘now’, is a time where we can interrupt our sense of normal, and embrace a new, brave connection with the brothers and sisters in our parish community. If we reach out to others, I am sure we will be embraced in solidarity.

There are many rooms in my Father’s house.

Bernadette Reed

(Religious Education Leader)