Fr Luke Miller

The parish boundary of S Andrew by the Wardrobe where I am the Rector runs along the south side of S Paul's. High up on the pediment of the transept   is the figure S Andrew looking over towards the parish church.  The Apostle stands above the famous carving  saved from Old Saint Paul's   the single word: RESURGAM . It is a message of resurrection, and the Phoenix added to it is Greek mythology re-purposed as Christian iconography. After the plague in London of 1665 and the Great Fire of 1666 Sir Christopher Wren 's great vision was for a new cathedral at the centre of a renewed City, risen from the ashes of the old. All London was to be as it were a symbol of resurrection: RESURGAM.   The place of the familiar dome in the skyline of London reminds us that in addition to wealth creation symbolised by the skyscrapers and recreation shown by the Millennium Wheel, our city is a place of resilience and selflessness. If that was true for preceding generat...

Many of us will have looked longingly at the beautiful weather and wished that we could have been out and about on the water, in the sunshine and enjoying it all with our friends and neighbours. Instead we cannot go out, our Units are closed and we observe social distancing and keep apart from one another. There is a straight forward reason for this: by staying at home and giving up our usual activities we save lives. Many of us would like to do something heroic to save a life, and we train for it: first aid to get a heart going again or swimming skills to rescue someone from the water. Maybe when we do that training we dream a little about being a hero and doing the right thing in the moment and perhaps receiving a reward for it afterwards. It's much more difficult to be heroic in a quiet way and for a long time. Simply staying in, observing the rules of social distancing, getting on with people with whom we might be cooped up in a small home. These do not seem to be heroic ...

Today I helped launch the Funeral Standards for London. In support of recently published Government guidance , London’s Strategic Coordination Group ( SCG ) has today [19 April] released a set of Funeral Standards to provide clarity and reassurance to families facing the burial or cremation of a loved one during the current pandemic. The Standards, which were developed by the Faith and Belief Cell of the SCG for Londoners of all faiths, beliefs and none, respond to the need for families to not delay funerals after someone has died whilst being able to shape some aspects of how they say goodbye. They offer a set of criteria to apply in all circumstances wherever public safety and operational capacity allow. Funerals in London will remain as normal as possible for as long as possible while observing social distancing regulations and the Standards may evolve according to need as the pandemic continues. Launching the Funeral Standards for London The Funeral Standard...

In London the response to Covid-19 is being managed by a  Strategic Coordination Group  set up by the  London Resilience Forum  under the  Civil Contingencies Act . As the Chair of the Faith Sector of  London Resilience  I attend the SCG (by exception when there are issues for which I am required). I am a full member of the Mortality Management Group. To ensure that the concerns and needs of people of all faiths & beliefs from the beginning  the MMG was set up  with a Faith & Belief Cell which I chair.  I have made these reflections  on our work  as Chair of the Faith & Belief Cell to assure all Londoners that families are at the centre in the care of the departed. When a loved one dies it is very important to know that they are being treated with dignity and respect. All those involved in the death management process are aware of this and, in particular,  of the need in some faiths...

This year the Triduum - the great Three Days of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday - is unwontedly quiet. Having been brought up in a Vicarage it has always been for me about the busiest time of year - much more so than Christmas - with almost wall to wall church, all the time not spent worshipping given to sorting out all the kit for washing feet, watching at the altar of repose, heading out to walks of witness, praying the Stations of the Cross, preparing for the Liturgy of the Passion, and getting ready for the Vigil. Narthex doorway Hagia Sophia Trabzon (Trebizond) Although for some there has been a scramble to get things done in new ways, for most this year, all that is gone. For me the experience has been truncated liturgies with hardly any preparation,and the quietest Triduum of my life. It's sorrowful and disconcerting; we yearn for it to be over. While I and many others find that prayer through activity is at the heart of our spirituality, the enforced re...