I remember when life seemed predictable. Then 2008 happened. ATMs nearly stopped working (good job I didn’t know or I would have been queuing at a cashpoint); banks nearly collapsed; austerity became the mood music of a generation. The rest, as they say, is history.
Twelve years later we live in a world of Fake News, conspiracy theory on steroids, rising nationalism, social media-led ‘news’ feeds, increased homelessness, Donald Trump, Brexit, the Climate Emergency, Middle Eastern crises (at least something’s predictable) the rise of ‘tribal identities’ and Covid19 lockdown. In this storm of turbulence – even chaos – we have discovered that our friends, neighbours and fellowship group members will be as divided as the world is, on the rights and wrongs of many of these issues.
Old certainties seem undermined; old unities have fractured. We tend to talk most openly with those whose views we know already. Other friendships keep sailing on because we have learned not to talk about these subjects at all. Things certainly have changed. Even nostalgia isn’t what it used to be. Yet in all of this is God! And faith!
