The Minister is Tired

If you could just give the minister a moment.

These times have been hard

Reading regulations 

Installation of sanitisation

Adding things 

Cancelling things 

Changing things 

Exchanging things 

Putting things away 

Taking them back out - we know more today.

Studying virology 

Epidemiology 

Crowd psychology

Eschatology

Hybrid services

With cameras overheating 

The odd virtual meeting 

While half say "it's nice doing face to face"

And others refuse to be in the same place 

As anyone who's not triple-vaxed

Vacuum-packed

Shrink-wrapped

In HazMat

suits. You

wouldn't believe the scenes 

Looking at countless Zoom screens

Then remembering on the third Wednesday it's Teams

Because Zoom fails to work 

On Jenny's  Chromebook.

Holding virtual hands

With the dying. Checking the latest rules 

On hospital visiting.

Uncle Jim's funeral by the graveside

Because Aunty Joan won't go inside.

Wedding guests that won't go masked 

No matter how nicely asked

Even with Grandma's condition 

And the bride's dad's only in remission.

(And the changes to the Wedding Regs

Have left the minister running on the dregs

Of energy 

And sanity

And stability

And mental agility.)

And no chance of rest 

from the Lateral Flow Test.

Communion in the hand? On the tongue?

In the garden? Bring your own?

And the inside, outside, all the sides

In Covidtide.

People who worship in masks

Those who focus on irrelevant cleaning tasks 

Those who are scared stiff by the news

Those so reckless, they're licking the pews.

Trying to discern 

what is this normal to which everyone wants to return 

So if the minister looks a little gray 

at the Zoom Communion today

please don't think 

it's  your screen needs adjusting - 

it's her colour balance on the blink.

It's been a long time.

And the minister is tired.