By Rev Richard Walker – Vicar of St. John’s Church, Yeadon

WITH this week comes the next stage of relaxing the lockdown restrictions.

Cafes, pubs, hairdressers, hotels, libraries and other places will be opening their doors to the public.

Life will get a little closer to ‘normal’ and yet the coronavirus hasn’t gone away: it is simply less prevalent than it was.

I wonder how you feel about all this. Some will say that it’s too soon to be making these changes. There is certainly a lot of fear and anxiety about the possible consequences. Other people argue that we have to try and get the economy going, otherwise the country is going to be in an even greater mess. So, onward we go, and we all have a part to play.

If the relaxation is going to be a lasting success, then we must all do our bit to prevent spreading the virus to others. We’ve heard the message many times and, while the Government’s advice has sometimes seemed confusing, we all get the general idea about hygiene, social distancing and the rest. It really is up to us to make this work.

Jesus’ ‘Golden Rule’ is worth bearing in mind. Do you remember it?

“Do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12).

You wouldn’t want other people to stand too close to you in a queue or to sneeze on surfaces you are going to touch or to meet indoors in large groups and so potentially make the virus more prevalent in the community.

You wouldn’t want others to do this, so make the decision to not do the same yourself.

Do to others what you would have them do to you.

Let’s all play our part. Let’s all act responsibly. Let’s work together to keep each other safe.