Category: Prime Time

Dear Prime Time member,

This week has been a busy one for me and as a result the days have sped past with almost frightening speed.  It doesn’t seem possible that a whole week has gone by since I was last writing to you.  Reflecting on my week so far, I seem to have spent a disproportionate amount of it in meetings on Zoom.  It’s a wonderful tool, but I’m finding it can eat up a lot of time without me really realising it’s happening.  Zoom is a good way to catch up with people though and I know it has been a real lifeline in keeping some of you connected with family and friends during this period of Lock-Down.  Your Prime Time Team got together on Zoom on Monday afternoon this week – it was lovely to see the Team again.  We did talk ‘shop’ – but we did a lot of chatting too which felt great!

We have had to accept that physically getting Prime Time back together may not be possible for the foreseeable future, both for reasons of social distancing but also acknowledging that many people may choose not to come out until the threat from Corona Virus has passed completely.  With this in mind, as a team we have begun to contemplate the future and how in our post-Lock Down world, Prime Time is best able to support you.  Whilst we acknowledge that not all Prime Time members have access to the internet, the vast majority do – and so we do intend to run some more events and activities online, either on Zoom or recorded for you to watch on the church’s You Tube channel.

So as a starter, I am delighted to be able to announce that on Monday 6th July we will be hosting a Quiz Afternoon and general catch up on Zoom starting at 2.30pm.  I will send out more details nearer the time, but please do put the date in your diaries.  One of the great things about Zoom is that we don’t have a maximum capacity as we might do in a physical building, so everyone who wishes to join in, is able to.

As we have been contemplating the future direction of Prime Time, we have also been wondering whether your views match ours?  Has the established format been meeting your needs?  As and when Lock-Down rules are eased sufficiently, do you want us to go back to offering large scale events once a month that you physically come along to?  Or perhaps you feel that you would prefer to remain in the sanctuary of your own home and join events remotely via a video-link such as Zoom?  Maybe with more time to reflect over recent weeks you have concluded that what Prime Time could offer you is learning opportunities and courses, perhaps faith based – but maybe not?  Could we ask you please to spend a little time thinking these things through as the Prime Time Team have done recently and let us know your thoughts?  We can’t promise that we’ll be able to achieve everything on everybody’s wish list, but it would be good to see if any trends or themes are emerging in people’s thinking. This forced pause in our usual activities is a great opportunity for us to reflect on what we do and to make sure that going forwards we are providing what our members want and need.  Obviously if you would like Prime Time to pick up where we left off just as soon as it’s possible and not change a thing – then that’s absolutely fine too – but please do say!

Prime Time is a key component of Busbridge & Hambledon’s Church’s pledge to address the issue of social isolation and loneliness among the older generation in our local community.  Prime Time has been doing this through the provision of regular social activities which increase the opportunity for people to get out and about and be with others; but as a church we are meeting this need in other ways too – both through our 1:1 befriending service and also our regular Hearing Aid Clinics.  You might be interested to learn that this week has been National Loneliness Awareness Week.  This has been the fourth year that this campaign has been run, so it’s not an initiative that’s come about as a result of Corona Virus; although the enforced social isolation resulting from the restrictions needed to control the spread of the virus and the resultant loneliness experienced by people of all ages, has been widely acknowledged. So this year’s Loneliness Awareness Week has seemed particularly timely.

I suspect that it might be unrealistic to imagine that none of Prime Time’s 130 plus members have not experienced some feelings of loneliness over the past three months.  We have, through necessity been living our lives in a most unusual way; we’re biologically wired for social contact and that is one thing that’s certainly been missing from our lives since the middle of March.  We all feel lonely at times – it’s a normal human emotion. Loneliness is a perceived mismatch between the quality or quantity of social connections that a person has and what they would like to have and the feeling of loneliness we experience is our signal that we need more social connections.  So perhaps, given the current circumstances where everyone finds that their opportunity for social contact is restricted, a more realistic hope for me to express is that any feelings of loneliness that you may have experienced might have been fleeting and that such feelings have not come to dominate your days.

As a Christian, my faith and my personal relationship with God have taken on a new significance since Lock-Down began.  Like many others I have found myself praying more, talking to God and seeking out quiet time to sit and think and to listen and to let Him guide.  Music and poetry have been a great source of comfort too.  Early on in the pandemic, one of the Lock-Down anthems was ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ in response to Captain Tom Moore’s epic walk around his garden in which he raised millions for the NHS.  That song has enormous significance for me.  My maternal grandmother was a huge presence in my life as I was growing up; she lived in the same village and we spent a lot of time together.  She was a woman of great faith and quiet confidence in the Lord – for someone born in 1914, in terms of her faith – in many ways she was way ahead of her time.  After she died, we found a note that she had left for us, requesting that ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ be sung at her funeral.   “You will think me quite mad” she had written; “I am NOT – when you are a believer you are NEVER alone”.

It is my grandmother’s certain hope that I wanted to share with you today.  If you have been feeling low, lonely and isolated I pray that you may be inspired by the words of this lady who has gone before, who herself would have been in her mid-80s when she wrote those lines encouraging us all to build a relationship with God so that we can all say that we are never truly alone.  I think Nana would have quite approved of Prime Time, she would probably have been a member had she had that chance – and I’m so pleased to be able to share her legacy with you today.

If what you have just read has got you thinking or prompted some questions then you might want to consider joining our next Alpha Course which this time is taking place on Zoom and starts on Wednesday evening next week, June 24th at 7.30pm.  Lots of people of all ages have questions about life and faith.  Alpha provides people with an opportunity to explore different aspects of the Christian faith and to discuss their questions in an informal and relaxed atmosphere and many are finding the new Lock-Down prompted online version a less daunting way to get started.  No questions are off limits and no assumptions are made. The 10 week course begins with a ‘no obligation’ introductory session led by our Curate, David Preece.  And during the evening there will be an opportunity to chat with those who have previously done Alpha.

There is no charge to join us at Alpha and all are welcome to come along and find out a bit more and decide whether it’s something you would be interested in. Lots of people can enjoy and benefit from coming to Alpha…

·         If you are new to the Christian faith or just starting to ‘dip your toe in’

·         If your friends or family ask you about what you believe and you’re never really sure what to tell them

·         If you’ve been a Christian for a long while but have never felt you could ask questions about your faith

·         If you’re fairly new to church and want to get to know some more people

…then Alpha is for you!  If you’d like to join our Alpha course starting on Wednesday next week, please email your interest to: alpha@bhcgodalming.org or complete the form that you will find on our website: www.bhcgodalming.org/alpha   On that webpage you will find further details about the Alpha course, including some videos – one of which I feature in!  (If you’re interested to hear what I have to say about Alpha, the one to click on is the video with the image of a lady sat in front of a Christmas tree).

Well this has turned into a particularly long email – well done for sticking with it to the end!  So I think I’d better end off for this week otherwise you’ll be at your computer all week reading it!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my ramblings and that they’ve helped pass another few minutes of your day.  Now go and put the kettle on, I think you’ve earnt yourself a cup of tea.  And perhaps while you’re drinking it, spend a few minutes reflecting on what Prime Time means for you and where you’d like to see it heading in the future. Answers on a postcard please (but an email will do just as well!)

Wishing you all a peace-filled week ahead.

With every blessing,

Penny

Penny Naylor
Primetime Befriending Co-ordinator

 

Busbridge & Hambledon Church Office

Phone: 01483 421267

Website: www.bhcgodalming.org

 

(Day off Weds)

Hello from PrimeTime!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve found myself getting quite used to the new routine of life in Lock Down and I suspect that I am not alone in this.  There have been a number of reports claiming that large numbers of people are feeling very positive about their new, slower–paced lifestyle and that if we were to keep it up post-lock down, as a nation we’ll be healthier for it.  Hopefully when we emerge from this national crisis we will, individually, feel the need to re-evaluate our lives, to re-assess what is important, what changes do we want to make, what new routines developed during this time of emergency do we actually want to keep up?  Whatever our age, what learning can we take from this experience?

I, like millions of others across Britain and across the world, during April followed with interest the story of Captain Tom Moore’s epic adventure around his garden.  I wonder if part of Captain Tom’s success was down to the fact that his was a story that wasn’t directly linked to Coronavirus?  At that time, whether we turned on the TV, picked up a newspaper, tuned in to the radio or turned on our computers, we are bombarded with details about one news story only – Coronavirus. So as the daily updates following Captain Tom’s progress emerged, it was like a breath of fresh air, a bit of escapism from reality.  For a few minutes we were enabled to think of something other than infection rates and how long ‘lock-down’ would go on for.

Like millions of other across our nation and world-wide, captain Tom was ‘doing his bit’.  How individuals choose to ‘do their bit’ varies from person to person.  Like Captain Tom, some are fundraising, others like the many wonderful volunteers across our local community have pledged practical support for people who are having to stay at home.  While some have used their time to find ways of entertaining us or helping us stay connected online.

What perhaps sets Captain Tom apart is his advanced age.  Our societal norms might have this 99 year old war veteran tucked up safe and sound inside his house in a cosy arm chair recounting stories of how active he was in his younger days.  A commonly expressed observation from people as their numerical age advances is that they somehow feel as though they’ve been ‘written off’, that they are now viewed as having little or no purpose or value to the community around them.  I’ve been leading Prime Time for 7 years now and I would say I think there has been a slight shift over this time in how our nation as a whole responds to the concept of ageing, but Captain Tom has certainly challenged the conventional perception of what many people would assume that someone of 99 would be like or indeed be capable of!

Captain Tom has become a hero, a national treasure and a role model.  A role model for younger generations to aspire to as well as inspire and a role model for his peers; a bringer of hope that advancing age does not inevitably equal a lack of purpose or meaning in life.  I’m not for a minute suggesting that I think all Prime Time members should start up a sponsored event and head out into your garden to see how many laps you can do or how many times you can climb the stairs; rather that in the light of Captain Tom’s achievement you yourself are inspired to believe that you still have value and purpose.  As an organisation, Busbridge & Hambledon Church firmly believe that older people matter and recognise that irrespective of age, people can make significant contributions to the lives of others.  Even in this time of ‘lock-down’ we are working on an initiative that will bring our generations together.  We are calling it Creative Kindness; look out for an article about this particular initiative elsewhere in this edition of The Bridge. On the notice board beside my desk in the church office is pinned a Bible verse:  ‘They will still bear fruit in old age. They will stay fresh and green’ (Psalm 92, Verse 14).  We also include it in the Prime Time calendar that we send out to everyone every 6 months.  I believe it, the leadership team here at BHC believe it, do you?

One of my favourite verses from scripture is Isaiah 40, Verse 31: ‘… but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint’. This passage makes reference to the natural phenomenon that as eagles age, just before their final demise they grow a new set of flight feathers that enable them to soar like a much younger bird for one last time before their strength fails.  I find this passage so full of hope that as we age, we will be enabled to find meaning and purpose in our twilight years.  That purpose can be realised right now from our armchairs as we sit in confinement waiting for the restrictions on our social activities to be lifted. 

Picking up the phone and ringing someone we’ve not seen in a while, or writing them a note or an email, praying for that person – these are all things that can help bring structure to our day and meaning and purpose to our lives.  It may not quite be in the league of raising £32 million for the NHS but it may change the day for the better for that one person who is the recipient of it, and it will probably brighten your day too.

I think that the verse from Isaiah is a very fitting tribute to Captain Tom, but I would like to end off today by using our new national treasure’s own words that he uttered when he completed his adventure; “You’ve all got to remember that we will get through it in the end, it will all be right.  For all those people finding it difficult at the moment, the sun will shine on you again and the clouds will go away.”

Not an especially Biblical ending to this letter I know, but wise words from a man who has lived through much and who unexpectedly finds himself inspiring a nation.

It is my prayer that you find inspiration from him too.

Until next time,

Penny x

Penny Naylor
Prime Time Befriending Coordinator