Earlier this week, the doors of our beloved church opened for the first time in months. Such mundane activities as walking through the High Street gate, wandering down the nave, lighting a candle or sitting down in the chancel had a most extraordinary character as I visited St Mary’s on Monday. It was like greeting an old friend, or returning home after a long journey. The stillness and familiarity of the building, its exquisite silence and distinctive smell of old wood infused with incense, like a warm welcome. I was reminded of this phrase which ends the responsory during compline ‘Hide me under the shadow of your wings’. Indeed, though one doesn’t necessarily need to be in a specific place to engage in prayer and witness the infinite presence of God, there is something comforting and grounding to sitting where many others have sat before us, joining them in their prayers of old, taking refuge under the cover of His wings (Psalm 61).

Anna Dill