In March 2020, best friends Debbie and Kathy who live near Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA had planned a trip together. They were to go on a European cruise. When they came to England, they had an extra special excursion planned, to visit Ilminster in Somerset where Debbie’s ancestors came from, one of whom is buried in The Minster’s churchyard.
But Covid struck, meaning Debbie and Kathy’s cruise was cancelled, and with it their plans to visit Somerset. In their disappointment the friends turned to the internet where they came across The Minster’s Facebook page and started watching the church’s online services, which at first came from the Vicarage and were led by Revd Jo Stobart and her son Tom.
Debbie said, ‘Watching the services from home really connected with where we were and were so warm and immediate that we felt we knew Jo.’ But even when church services resumed in the building, Debbie and Kathy, both regular members of their own Catholic church, continued to attend The Minster’s online services each week.
Kathy regularly watches the services whilst she is on the train knitting but even so joins in fully, standing and sitting at the appropriate points in the liturgy. ‘Debbie and Kathy often comment on our services, so I know that they are watching, and they definitely feel like members of the congregation – just ones I don’t get to see each week,’ said Revd Jo Stobart.
Finally, this month, Debbie and Kathy were able to start their European cruise but before embarking they managed to travel from London down to Somerset on the train and met up with Jo, spending the day in Ilminster.
For Debbie it was a chance to connect with her ancestors, ‘Touching the font that my forebears would have been christened in was an incredibly special moment.’ Kathy described getting to meet up and come to the church as ‘the cherry on the top of the sundae. Perfect!’
Reflecting on the day Jo said, ‘It was an incredible privilege to meet Debbie and Kathy. I could never have predicted what would come of my son and me leading worship from our living room with my mobile phone two years ago, and the way in which the connections formed have been so significant for everyone involved. As someone for whom the Eucharist is really important, it reminds me that the body of Christ joins us all in God’s family – whether we live in the same parish or on different sides of the Atlantic.’