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Available for over a year

It was one of the instructions from the start. Even in this time of restricted movement, one trip out a day to exercise, get some fresh air, was permitted. Public parks were to be kept open. And public and police have been finding their way through this guidance, ranging from setting off on legitimate dog walks to unacceptable social gatherings around a barbecue. The measures taken to suppress the spread of this virus have been amongst other things a stress test for our own politics of space; the use of it, how public it is, and how much of it any of us has. It was reported over the weekend that there are almost half a million acres of public green space in Britain. But if, for example, all golf courses were opened to help relieve the pressure on public parks, this would increase the space more than half as much again. The 10% of the UK population that lives in an urban area not near a park but near a golf course would obviously benefit from doing their socially distanced exercise there. In Christian theology, reflection on place and space is a constant theme. The closure of church buildings for public events has been an obvious and important step to take during this time. But the broadcast of the priest from within the church building alone so that the congregation still has virtual access to their holy place has been hotly debated and is unevenly implemented between denominations at the moment. All these debates serve to say that places matter, and we know that connecting with green spaces and the natural world is incredibly important for our spiritual, mental, emotional health as well as our physical exercise. The desert fathers of the 4th century, whose space seemed almost infinite, but who yet confined themselves to their own communities as a spiritual discipline, had a saying which is that God is not elsewhere. For Christians this Easter, we have reflected that Christ died alone, fighting for breath. God is not elsewhere than in ICU, with exhausted staff, in care homes, or in small flats. God is not elsewhere too, in our public green spaces, most vital for any who have no garden, no balcony, no private place to breathe the fresh air. Questions of place and space are not only economic, they are moral and spiritual concerns too. Let the parks and other green places be primarily for those who’ve not had been able to buy themselves space, in order perhaps to help them buy themselves more time.