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Viewpoint from Rev Jemma Sander-Heys 28/08/2020
 Rev Jemma Sander-Heys
Team Vicar, Great Yarmouth Team Ministry
I hope you've all been keeping well in these strange months, aren't we living in interesting times, I never thought I'd be streaming services on the internet, OR playing the tuba in those services...! As my daughter said: “One day people will study this time in history won't they - I used to imagine history happened to old people in black and white, but now I know it happens to everybody in colour!” ...
Extra family time has been a blessing to me, I'm normally so busy through the week that I don't get to deeply appreciate the funny and lovely people I live with; but I expect, like me, you've been missing people you usually see, too... We humans need one another in order to really be ourselves - sometimes it might not feel like that, when we're tired or needing space, but by and large, we are good for one another - if we know how to build and maintain good relationships!
 Jesus was amazing at relationships - he didn't just have the disciples we know who followed him around, he also had families and friends that he would stay with while he was travelling and teaching, like Martha, Mary, and Lazarus; he attended local weddings and festivals; and met with people day and night, on land and even at sea
Jesus was particularly good at relating to those people who other people often avoided - like people who were struggling with their mental health or who didn't have socially typical family-lives; people whose jobs meant they were shunned; and also the sick and lepers – people who had visible skin diseases - shunned by society...
 Jesus was a walking community builder who was genuinely interested in relationships and knew that all people deserved to be involved and supported in a human community that included everyone.
Jesus also focussed on healing and transformation at the margins. That's what we're going to really need again now in the coming months and years - as we look for new ways of being society: community- building that looks to the margins - of society, of health, and of wellness - and brings people in, so we can support one another
also published in the Great Yarmouth Mercury
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