Gill writes:
I’ve been thinking about endings this week. I think it was triggered by listening to Danny Dorling last week on the ‘Somewhere To Believe In’ podcast (it’s the new Greenbelt podcast – it’s brilliant – check it out https://www.greenbelt.org.uk/somewhere-to-believe-in-a-brand-new-podcast-from-greenbelt/) where he explores the death of Empire (and inequality, Brexit and pandemics too) and the implications that this can have on us.
Another reason to think about endings is that, come September 1st, our team will have reduced to three (and a bit) because our wonderful Jane is moving to pastures new (the Ministries Team no less) and so there’s all the ‘handing overs’ and tying up of tasks that only Jane can do.
Us humans really struggle with endings. We want them to be neat and tidy. We use phrases like ‘drawing a line under it’ ‘wrap it up’ and ‘done and dusted’. We struggle with messy, or complicated. When people leave or move away, many of us prefer to say ‘see you again’ rather than ‘goodbye’.
Even though we want a clean ending in some ways, when it comes to people we like or love, we still want to keep a thread that connects us – ‘we’ll come and visit’, ‘we’ll keep in touch’ and ‘we’ll see each other on Facebook’.
Of course, Jane isn’t the only one making a move this summer. Many of our ministers and their families (please – let’s not forget their families) will be facing endings as a number of them move to a new circuit. With those endings, come endings for many Methodist people as they say goodbye (in very unusual cirumstances this year) and have to embrace the changes too.
This song by Blur, which I think is one of their best, speaks to me of change – and our relutance (or reticence) towards it. You may recall that Blur were at their peak in the mid to late 90’s as we approached a new century. It was the time of Cool Brittania, the ‘Titanic’ film, the Millenium Dome and the Millenium Bug. It felt like we were being encouraged to get excited for the future when really lots of people preferred to stick with what they already knew.
We all say “don’t want to be alone”
We wear the same clothes ’cause we feel the same
We kiss with dry lips when we say goodnight
End of a century, oh, it’s nothing special
That’s another way that we deal with endings – pretending that nothing is going to change. We’ll just keep on doing what we’re doing. ‘It’s nothing special’. While the world around us changes, we’ll make an effort to stay the same. I wonder – surely it gets to a point where trying to stay the same uses up more energy and emotion than adapting to change.
Blur were one of those groups whose music evolved and changed with them. If you compare their album ‘Leisure’ to ‘Parklife’ (which this song is from) to ’13’, you’ll see what I mean. Or perhaps listen to ‘There’s no other way’, this song and ‘Coffee and TV’ – and you’ll see what I mean. The same could be said of many groups & singers – U2, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie to name but a few. The artists that are open to new ways and willing to take risks with their music often carry on their craft for longer.
Endings and the change that they bring are often life-giving and energising. They can bring deeper understanding of ourselves and those we share the planet with. They push us to new places where we are likely see God at work in a new way – and what’s not to embrace about that!
So – just to tie this post up nicely 😉 – just a reminder of what Jesus says at the end of Matthew’s Gospel ‘And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ Whatever the change; Whatever the ending; God is with us.
Find out more about Blur at https://www.blur.co.uk/?frontpage=true
The Friday Fix 