Vicar of Chesterfield's Crooked Spire urges people to 'be kind' during coronavirus crisis

The vicar of Chesterfield’s Crooked Spire church has urged people to ‘be kind’ during the coronavirus pandemic.
Reverend Patrick Coleman outside Chesterfield's Crooked Spire church.Reverend Patrick Coleman outside Chesterfield's Crooked Spire church.
Reverend Patrick Coleman outside Chesterfield's Crooked Spire church.

Reverend Patrick Coleman told the Derbyshire Times: “I did some food shopping in town this afternoon and thanked the checkout worker for being there for us. I didn’t expect the reply ‘and thank you for taking care of our spiritual needs’.

“A lot of what I do as a parish priest is about being there for people, or being around when they need to talk and pray. Being only one person, obviously it happens that I’m not in the particular place where someone wants me to be, and it also happens that I don’t have answers to all the problems of life.

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“But ‘being there’ for people is still something I can do during a lockdown that sees clergy, like most people, largely confined to quarters. You can contact us any time on 01246 206506 and we will listen, try to help, say a prayer – we’re there for you. You can say a prayer when you see the locked church building that still shines light into the darkness of this present time.

“Most of all, you might like to add to the great number of people who are ‘being there’ for someone else. We should all join in paying tribute to the huge numbers of unsung heroes in the caring professions, and all the other key workers who are helping to keep life going.

“If you’re not already doing it, why not ‘phone a lonely person, and if you’re fit, why not join the growing numbers of people who are volunteering to help and support the caring professions as members fall ill and numbers are stretched.

“Finally, I recently read an article on the great writer Jan Morris. Now aged 93, she was asked the solution to the problem people of the world. ‘If you are not sure what you think about something, the most useful questions are these,’ she says. ‘Are you being kind? Are they being kind? That usually gives you the answer’. Life can be more than usually frustrating under lockdown, under pressure. If there’s one thing above all we can do for each other, it’s to be kind.

“Keep safe, and keep well.”