‘All the world’s a stage’ by William Shakespeare ‘As you like it’ Act II, Scene vii: 142 – 169

Speech made by Jacques to Duke Senior

“All the world’s a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,

Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms;

And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel

And shining morning face, creeping like snail

Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,

Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad

Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,

Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,

Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,

Seeking the bubble reputation

Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,

In fair round belly with good capon lin’d,

With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,

Full of wise saws and modern instances;

And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts

Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloons,

With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;

His youthful hose, well sav’d, a world too wide

For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,

Turning again toward childish treble, pipes

And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,

That ends this strange eventful history,

Is second childishness and mere oblivion;

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everythihng.”

‘Plague priest is my inspiration to hope’ by Rev Alison Joyce, Rector of St Bride’s Church in Fleet Street, London (Article published in ‘The Times’ April 18th 2020, p. 78)

In recent days I have found myself thinking a great deal about Richard Peirson.

In 1665 the year of the Great Plague, Peirson was the priest here at St Bride’s Church, Fleet Street, the post that I now hold. Faced with the unimaginable horror of the plague, many clergy fled London. Peirson was one of the few who chose to remain. He stayed at his post, faithfully serving his people as best he could.

Our burial register for the year 1665 makes for startling reading. In the month of September alone, when the plague was at its height, Peirson buried 636 people. He buries whole families; he buries his church officials; he buries unknown and unidentified strangers: some entries read simply: “A child from Kingshead Ally” or “A man from new street”. The symptoms of bubonic plague were horrific; the recovery rate was effectively nil.

I can’t help wondering how Peirson kept going during that year. I wonder what kept him here, quietly and steadfastly ministering to his flock day after dreadful day, when every human instinct within him must have craved escape. And Peirson was not alone. Churches were essential hubs of social care for the most vulnerable.

We live in a time of fear and uncertainty during the present pandemic. And yet, compared with Peirson, I have it easy. I do not have to take hard decisions about whether or not to expose myself to contagion, for the simple reason that I am bound by the same self-distancing rules as everyone else. My pastoral work continues, but these days it is a ministry of telephone calls, emails and Facetime. My rectory is connected to our church, enabling me to keep a candle burning before our main altar and continue a ministry of prayer, including for all journalists, part of our distinctive ministry at St Bride’s. I record sermons, surrounded by empty pews, and yet I am discovering that it is possible to sustain a very real sense of community that is a lifeline, especially for those who are isolated and alone, bored, frustrated, or simply fearful.

It surprises me when people regard the Christian faith as a kind of celestial insurance policy against bad things happening to you. The first followers of Jesus certainly didn’t see it like that. In dedicating their lives to following the crucified and risen Christ they knew that their discipleship would take them into the very heart of dearkness, not away from it. Hope is no hope at all unless it can engage with utter despair and meaninglessness.

Peirson survived the plague. In August 1666 he was succeeded by Paul Boston , just a fortnight before the Great Fire of London destroyed our church. Boston kept the worship going in a tabernacle in our churchyard until the foundations of our present Wren church were laid. In his will he left St Bride’s money to buy new communion silverware, which I use here each Sunday morning (in normal times). When I do so I feel a direct connection with these extraordinary men. And I thank God for them.

Effects of climate change in the UK

Climate change is causing warming across the UK. All of the UK’s 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 2002. Heatwaves, like that of summer 2018 are now 30 times more likely to happen due to climate change.
UK winters are predicted to become warmer and wetter on average, although cold and dry winter will still occur sometimes. Summers are projected to become hotter and are more likely to be drier, although wetter summers are also possible. By 2050, heatwaves like that seen in 2019 are expected to happen every other year.
Even if we do reduce greenhouse gas emissions, sea levels around the UK will keep rising beyond 2100. Parts of the UK will be in danger of flooding, with low lying and coastal cities at particular risk.
Heavy rainfall is also more likely. Since 1998, the UK has seen seven of the ten wettest years on record. The winter storms in 2015 were at least 40% more likely because of climate change.
Farming in the UK will be affected by climate change too. Hotter weather and higher levels of CO2 may make growing some crops easier, or even allow us to produce new ones. However, with more droughts expected, water may not be as easy to access, making it harder for farmers to plan the growing season.
Floods, storms and extreme heat can cause damage to buildings, disrupt transport, and affect health. Buildings and infrastructure need to be adapted to cope with the new conditions. Businesses will have to plan around a changing climate. To help the UK understand what climate change means for the nation, the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment is published every 5 years. More details of the future conditions expected for the UK are available in the UK Climate Projections (UKCP18).

This article was written and published by the Met Office on its website: metoffice.gov.uk/weather/climate-change/effects-of-climate-change

William Shakespeare ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ Act III, Scene II: 226 - 242
Enobarbus speaking to Maecenas and Agrippa about Cleopatra

“I will tell you,
The barge she sat in, like a burnish’d throne,
Burn’d on the water: the poop was beaten gold;
Purple the sails, and so perfumed that
The winds were love-sick with them; the oars were silver,
Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke, and made
The water which they beat to follow faster,
As amorous of their strokes. For her own person,
It beggar’d all description: she did lie
In her pavilion – cloth-of-gold of tissue –
O’er-picturing that Venus where we see
The fancy outwork nature: on each side her
Stood pretty dimpled boys, like smiling Cupids,
With divers-colour’d fans, whose wind did seem
To glow the delicate cheeks which they did cool,
And what they undid did.”

A Prayer

Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s Theory of Relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theorem of thermo-dynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.

Written by Revd Martin Luther King Jr. (1926-68)