Chrism Summer 2020

Editorial

There is so much can one might write in the editorial of a healing journal when we are in the middle of a global health pandemic. Indeed, some have argued that not since in the Black death of medieval Europe has life been so profoundly impacted by a medical health crisis. As this goes to print, we are coming to the end of the first wave of the virus and beginning to tentatively unlock our lives; but there is much uncertainty and we continue to live in the shadow of death.  

In this issue of Chrism we take a first step into producing an academic response. Prof Helen Leathard has kindly provided two erudite articles. The first looks at the virus from a biomedical perspective and offers some theological reflections; the second is a timely redraft of an earlier paper looking at how we handle death. I am also delighted to publish the writing of Dr. Sophy Jordan who is a Platonist and Reader in training for the Church of England. Jordan writes about the opportunities and challenges of living in our own lockdown cave. And finally, we are honoured to publish a transcript of a talk given by The Rt. Revd. Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury. It was given pre-Covid-19 but offers some vital angles on wellbeing and healing on the way as we walk through these dark days together. 

There is as yet no vaccination for the virus, and we are unable to foresee how life will re-form in a post-Covid-19 world. But, there is opportunity here too. To nurture the green shoots of community care that have been vital in the response to the pandemic; to encourage the interdisciplinary approach that complex problems demand; to confidently bring the healing ministry of the church into conversation with medical, psychological and public health conversations for the ongoing work of the flourishing of human lives. We have seen nature flourish over the spring and summer of 2020, reminding us that we have done so much damage to the natural world in the past, and indeed our careless use of nature may be a central cause for the emergence of this virus. 

At the Guild, we often talk about whole person health; Covid-19 recovery is going to require an whole humanity response to find healing and wholeness; not a return to what was, but an openness to move forward. To do this, there needs to be space for grief and mourning, time for non partisan reflection, and bravery to confront patterns of living which denied life to so many. My hope for Chrism, and indeed the larger work of the Guild of Health and St Raphael, is that we are augmenting this conversation with the voices of Christians who understand humans to be made in the image of God, and who seek to usher into the world the peace of Christ and the hope of the Christian faith.

Contents page

p.4 Editorial

p.5 Covid19: A Biomedical-Biblical Dialogue, The Revd Prof Helen Leathard

p.10 Dying into Eternal Life, The Revd Prof Helen Leathard

p.16 Reimagining the Cave, Dr. Sophy Jordan

p.20 ‘Wellbeing’ – the text from a talk by Rt Revd Dr. Rowan Williams at Holy Rood House