It’s been a momentous week for the massed congregations of the land. Exiled from their scared sites and left with no focus to their weekends, they have finally received actual proof of what has been rumoured for a few weeks. Yes, football is back.
There are a few changes in place. No crowds - although piped in noise of the fans acts as a kind of sop to those who need it. There’s an attention to disinfecting the ball, the water bottles, the paramedics, the corner flags and so on which is as thorough as it is rendered pointless by the constant hugging and spitting of the players.
Churches and other places of worship have also been able to open their doors this week. This has not had quite the same coverage in the media as the return of football but for many it’s a significant step on the long route back to some semblance of normality.
The opening of doors has not brought with it the automatic resumption on full service schedules, groaning pews and physical contact. Most churches I’ve seen advertising themselves as being open are only offering the chance to step inside for private prayer.
St Nicholas offers a one-way system and only a few pews not cordoned off by the sort of striped orange tape they use on Midsomer Murders. There’s a very evident hand-sanitising table and the welcome comes from behind the now almost normal face mask.
Being more interested in observing than observance, I spend only a few short minutes perching near the front before quietly slipping away through the ‘exit only’ side door, pondering the irony of some people being kept out of their favourite places inside which the action goes on without them, while others are allowed back in only to find there’s no action of note taking place. Different routes to the same destination I suppose.
Back at the nation’s other religion, football is currently basking in a new light. Players have unanimously backed the need to stand together against racism by taking the knee. The Black Live Matter logo and message is all over their shirts - if you can let the focus of your gaze drop down for a second from the immaculate and outlandish hairstyles they all seem to have given themselves during lockdown.
Making the headlines for totally laudable reasons is the campaign, led entirely by one player alone, to get free meals for school children who would otherwise be facing very lean times over the holidays. It’s a significant victory and, while it may not in itself be sufficient balance for all the daft, selfish, ignorant things members of this profession routinely manage to do, it is a clear indication that compassion and responsibility exist within the overpaid ranks of professional football.
So who would have thought it? Leading the way on racial tolerance and social welfare at the same time. They already have the litany and the hymns. At this rate the churches may as well just remain closed and admit defeat. Or perhaps just allow themselves an inward smile at the fact that the living staples of one group of people is lifted up as being shiny and new by another.
