As I write, the nation and the world are facing huge uncertainties. A second wave of Coronavirus is becoming a reality and 'local additional measures' are coming into force in many areas of the country. The Christian church is naturally affected by all this: no singing, mandatory facemasks, some things on Zoom only, other things impossible altogether.

But there is one thing we can rely on: the reliable presence of our unchanging God through it all. It is easy to find ourselves beset by negativity but there are also positives to reflect on. Recently St John's conducted a survey of the people who were its 'regulars' before the Coronavirus outbreak began, to assess how we're doing, and I spent several hours this week reviewing the completed forms and collating the results (if you haven’t seen the results and would like to, just contact me).

I was struck by the answers to one question in particular, asking what we had been learning over the last few months. There were many encouragements here, ranging from the importance of counting our blessings and keeping perspective in tough times to getting our priorities right and trusting God.

Not surprisingly, there were some Bible references. The one that struck me most was in Paul's second letter to the church in Corinth: "we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal." (chapter 4, verse 18). Amid the challenging times in which we find ourselves, I pray that you will look beyond what is seen and temporary to the unseen and eternal God.

David