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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Ann Memmott, national and international adviser on inclusion for churches, with a focus on disability, autism and other neurodiversities

Good morning

Like everyone else, our family has been living through Lockdown because of Coronavirus. As we have autistic family members , elements of this have been hard, yet other parts are much easier. Harder, certainly, the anxiety of being ‘out of our routines’ in the first weeks. Going from being busy at work, to total stop for a while. From being able to share time in person with a few friends and colleagues, to coping with new online ways to stay in touch. A peril of an invisible disability or different neurology is that not many people immediately understand why we need some things to happen. For example, a young autistic person may have a desperate need to visit a particular place each day as part of life’s pattern. Without it, they may be at risk of severe outcomes. I was glad of the Government’s interventions to enable autistic people to adapt the recommended exercise routines, during those most constrained parts of lockdown.

Other parts of the last weeks have been a joy, for me. A chance to hear, in what was a deafening soundscape. To breathe, in what was a world choked with fumes. To enjoy views from vantage points which had been clouded with air pollution. It has made such a difference to our ability to thrive, for many of us.

As we look towards this new future, we may hope that the world ahead is a quieter and more reflective one, in which we cherish one another and the world around us with renewed joy.

Loving God, who created the earth, and who has been at our side throughout these sobering times, enable us to emerge as better stewards of the world around us, and as better friends to those who share our journey.

Amen.