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It’s been a funny old year, by which I mean not funny at all, and not old but weirdly new. Thankfully, cautiously, gradually, live events have begun tiptoeing back. And as I work in live events, I’ve been particularly glad. Last week I took a comedy show to a church: their first non-Sunday-service event in 18 months. They were just glad to be there. There’s nothing like gathering together for a show – BUT we’re being super-careful. It’s worth going the extra mile to put people at ease, make themÌýfeelÌýsafe, make themÌýactuallyÌýsafe. Masks when moving, socially distanced jokes, I’m all for it.

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Of course some jokes have had to change. ‘Why did the chicken cross the road? Social distancing.’ ‘Knock knock, who’s there, no one’s there, they’ve left your delivery on the bin lid and done a runner.’ ‘My wife’s gone to the West Indies?’ ‘How?’ ‘Well it’s on the amber list.’ ‘Jamaica?’ ‘No the government did.’ As a comedian, I’m focused on the jokes, the show, then I go home. So it was heart-warming to hear that after Saturday’s show, in church the next morning the atmosphere was delightfully less anxious than before. People had been attending services nervously. But after the laughter, a reduction in anxiety. I’m not taking credit though – the act ofÌýgatheringÌýwas more important than the show itself. There were laughs, but the biggest cheer was when someone dropped a tray of drinks – you don’t get that online.

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Jesus said ‘Where two or three are gathered in my name, I’ll be there’ – and he also said ‘Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, I’ll give you rest.’ The chance to come together safely can help lift those burdens, relieve some anxieties. Obviously I hope we don’t relax too much – not back to sneezing into our hands before going for handshakes (that was never alright). It all reminds me, that even in those gatherings of two – in other words, ‘a conversation’ – positive effects we have on each other can echo beyond that moment. We can’t know the onward power our interactions have with others, giving that lift. It might not get us to the West Indies, but maybe like the chicken, it’ll help get us to the other side.

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