Today we remember in a shared moment of celebration, VE Day. VE Day gives us the chance to remember those ordinary men and women who showed courage over many years to defend our country. They came from every background and also from across the whole world. They were sometimes scared, sometimes frustrated and had to leave loved family and friends to do what they saw as their duty and responsibility to protect their communities.
Today is an opportunity to be thankful for them and all those at home behind the scenes who made victory possible. It proved a key bridge quickly followed by an unprecedented rebuilding of community – the NHS being just one example of this. Sick of war, people chose to build centres of healing and community support.
Today is another opportunity to reflect on our Pandemic situation as a country – and as countries across the world. Corona isn’t an enemy- as a virus it isn’t even alive – but it kills just the same. Every Thursday evening we gather in communities to recognise the skills and commitment of NHS staff. They are there, working in spite of the obvious fears and concerns they have for their families and their own safety. For hospitals to work there are so many people behind the scenes – porters, cleaners, builders, manufacturers of tests and blood checks, ventilators and syringes.
Which brings us back to VE Day, a shared moment of celebration. VE Day is a chance for us to be thankful for the commitment to the communities of those in the past. That commitment continues today with fresh opportunities for us all to play our part in building relationships in these times where lockdown threatens to isolate and separate us.Phone, video calls and letters can all connect and heal us now and going forward. So let’s all reflect on how to build on that community legacy of the end of the war, to build local and supportive communities with family and friendships at the heart of it so we can support each other. How can we all play our part and make a difference?
The Living Life to the Full Team.
