March 23 2020, the lockdown in response to the Covid-19 Virus in the UK began.  People weren’t sure what to expect, I suppose everyone was stunned.  The Churches were closed and the clergy were not even allowed to enter their churches for prayer. 

Recently the three parishes of the Whitland group, Pendine/Velfrey group and Crymych Group were inaugurated as one Local Ministry Area, difficult area to have as a Ministry Area as is spans the three counties of Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Cardiganshire and stretches from the mountains to the sea.  I was appointed LMA Dean, but then the lockdown happened and everything ground to a halt.

I couldn’t visit anyone, there were no church services and I couldn’t just sit here and do nothing.

I had at least collected emails from someone in each of the fifteen churches so I decided to send a circular email just to let everyone know I was here if needed. 

No one knew how long this would last and I had no clear idea what I was going to do next.  Perhaps send other emails from time to time.  From Palm Sunday I decided to send a circular every day through Holy Week and such was the response it became a daily circular, every few days more and more people asked to be added to the list and many people sent it on to others as well.  I was bowled over and humbled by what people told me it meant to them.

This isn’t so much a diary of the lockdown but my rambling musings as I reacted to people’s concerns and the events as they developed.  These are not mini sermons or thoughts for the day this is just a country Vicar on an inner journey reaching out to others.  I have collected them here because I read somewhere that the National Library of Wales thought such things would be useful to future generations in helping them to understand what it was like to live through this.  Also because some of the recipients thought they were so good they suggested I put them into a book.