Poem - Back in the Building
Stratton Methodist Church is open today,
Gather with us, let us pray,
A day of celebration is in store,
Back in our building once more,
We look forward to no longer having to ask,
Have you sanitised your hands, where’s your mask?
Can we stop now with track and trace?
Can we finally enter this holy place?
If you think it’s been such a long while,
Since in public, you could see anyone’s smile,
Remember that the dentists were all closed,
Be aware, our rotten teeth, may now be exposed!
Do you remember when communities clapped for our NHS?
Thank you to all keyworkers and God bless!
The times when we couldn’t into church file,
And brides that couldn’t walk up the aisle,
All the parties and celebrations we missed,
When no-one could be hugged, or kissed,
But the day has finally come, no more wondering when,
Will we be allowed, in the church building again?
It’s time to leave home, get out of your seat,
In Stratton Methodist, we can finally meet,
Welcome back one, welcome back all,
We are still here, to answer God’s call,
Join us now to celebrate,
If you want a good seat, don’t be late!
Hip, hip, hooray, give a cheer,
It’s been so long since we were last here,
Come inside and have a friendly chat,
How much have we all missed that?
It’s been a tough time for everyone,
But now things have finally begun,
To offer a future of hope,
Being a church family, helps us cope,
Together again at last,
It certainly didn’t happen fast,
When re-opening, once again was delayed,
For everyone’s safety, we prayed.
If you’re hard of hearing and you need,
To see my mouth to lip read,
I’ll have to be careful now what I say,
I can’t hide under my mask, or mutter away,
Praising God is a wonderful thing,
Now we are allowed in the church to sing,
Are you worshipping full of desire,
Do we sound good together as a choir?
So, the music starts to play, and then soon,
We’ll be able to hear, who’s singing out of tune!
So if you are out of practice, now might be a good time,
To not actually sing, only pretend, just mime!
To be here, you might feel elated,
But remember, the building must be ventilated,
So, I hope that the rain doesn’t pour,
And don’t sit too close to the door,
Because you really don’t want to get,
Sat in a draught, where it’s all wet!
Getting together is no longer a distant memory,
We can meet in person, together again we can be,
On my computer you all look so flat,
I’m looking forward to having a 3D chat!
Showing each other that we care,
Being disciples, fellowship we share,
Now that we don’t have to use a virtual room,
Good morning. Hello. Are you fed up of Zoom?
No more seeing you only through a computer screen,
Although that a blessing and a joy, it has been,
No longer getting into trouble,
If we step outside our bubble!
Paper cups for drinking our coffee,
Everything must be disposable, you see,
No, you can’t have a china mug of tea,
Boris made the rules, don’t blame me!
As a fundraising event, we were winning,
When our taps and bins, we were twinning.
It’s been 18 months since I last projected,
Because of the Pandemic, the world was infected,
How to work Easy Worship, I have no recollection,
I can’t even blame, a bad internet connection!
I hope I can remember what to do,
Or there’ll be no words for singing for any of you!
I can’t even use the printed instructions, to give me a clue,
As some time in lockdown, a pesky mouse had a chew!
And if I have a video to play,
You might be here ‘til midnight today!
I know you remember from days long ago,
The computer has frozen but it’s on with the show,
I know what you’re thinking, by the look on your face, I can tell,
It just wouldn’t be ‘normal’ if everything went perfectly well!
If anyone asks, I’m not in charge of the sound,
Eyes to the front please and don’t look around,
If I don’t like what you’re saying, if there’s ever a dispute,
Oops and oh dear, who ‘accidently’ pressed mute?
You’ll have to dress smartly, from head to toe,
Whatever you’re wearing, now we’ll all know,
I can’t wear my pyjama trousers to church?
Quick, Google, ‘clothes sale’, please search,
I can’t wear my slippers? You’re having a laugh!
It’s not like on Zoom, where we can only see tour top half!
Finally allowed out to play,
Are you coming to church today?
We can all meet together again there,
No more worrying about, the state of our hair!
Prayer requests,
Special guests,
Church family news,
Sharing of views,
So many topics of conversation,
Thank you God for creation,
Different ways of keeping in touch,
God loves us all so much,
United as a church family,
Worship together, praise be!
Moving forward, Lord God, help us to continue to always show,
The church is the people not just the building, a truth that will help us to grow,
So come join our celebration, entrance to the church is free,
Listen carefully and take this advice from me,
Join us for a BBQ and see,
All that being back in the building can be!