27th September 2023
A further thought on Bletchley Park
Jesus said, “You’re tied down to the mundane; I’m in touch with what is beyond your horizons. You live in terms of what you see and touch. I’m living on other terms…”
John 8:23-33 (The Message)
When you take a tour of Bletchley Park there are at least a dozen huts and other places to explore as well as the original main house. There is a hand-held video available with plenty of information on each venue and who worked there, plus films, information boards and hands-on equipment to investigate in each place. There’s nothing secret now about this ultra super-secret establishment that was set up in World War 2 to break the German military codes.
During the war some who were already in the Forces were transferred to work at Bletchley. Civilians were approached, interviewed and if accepted, told to sign the official Secrets Act. Only then did they discover what their job was.
It is reckoned that the work that Bletchley Park accomplished shortened the war by at least two years and saved many lives. But much of the work was monotonous, maybe downright boring. Motorbike dispatch riders criss-crossed the unsignposted countryside each day with incoming messages to be delivered. Mechanics kept the vehicles going. Cooks and nursing staff cared for everyone. Some even tended the vegetable garden. Three quarters of the workforce were women, most of whom worked in shifts around the clock as twenty thousand messages streamed in, to be analysed, and hopefully, decoded. They worked in wooden huts, often with no heating, through all weathers. And many had no idea of what work was being done in the hut next door, let alone an overview of the entire mission.
And for many of us, our Christian lives can seem rather mundane, as they were for so many of the nine thousand people taking part in the code-breaking mission of Bletchley. There are Christians who have lives that are hazardous and may be living with the threat of loss of liberty or loss of life. But for most of us, we live lives that can be rather humdrum. Nevertheless, however we view our lives, we all have a part in the mission of Christ, who alone has a complete overview of the mission.
The famous war-time slogan certainly applied to those who worked tirelessly at Bletchley, while under the threat of invasion: ‘Keep calm and carry on’.
And for us, as we live our everyday, routine, ordinary lives there is a different slogan whose origins are obscure, but it has been repeated in many songs: ‘Keep on keeping on’.
Prayer
Loving Saviour, you know about ‘keeping calm and carrying on’. You know about ‘keep on keeping on’ too. May we continue to work with you, through the unexciting times, and the dull times, and the times of weariness, always being aware that you look on us as part of the great saving work that you are doing for all humanity. Amen.
Study by Hilary Buck
About the writer:
Hilary Buck is a minister and pastors the Lewes congregation of Grace Communion International.
Local congregation:
Grace Communion in Lewes
The House of Friendship
208 High Street
Lewes
BN7 2NS
Meeting time:
Sunday 11:00 am
Local congregational contact:
Hilary Buck
Email: lewes@gracecom.church
Like us on www.facebook.com/Grace Communion Lewes
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church