Love your neighbour

By Julie Guest, Vicar, Parish of St John’s Anglican Church

Last Friday evening I was one of the 40,000 people standing in line waiting to be let into Mount Smart Stadium when to our great surprise we saw hundreds of people exiting. Gradually the news spread that the Elton John concert had been cancelled. Disbelief was palpable. There were many in the queue behind us who thought we were having a laugh and when the truth dawned, deep disappointment followed.

It was one of those moments when as an individual you become connected to complete strangers by circumstance. We had all battled monumental traffic snarl ups; whether we had travelled by bus, private car, or taxi, we had been stuck, were late and had to be dropped off and walk much further than expected. As we were disembarking our cars, the full force of the rain storm hit, so by the time we arrived at the stadium gates every one of us, no matter how carefully we had dressed to prepare, were drenched. We were in good spirits though, because we were about to be part of Elton’s final tour. Worth the effort and making a memory we said to each other. Then came the news. It was all for nothing.

That was when the connection really happened. What to do? Buses had left. Friends who had kindly done the drop off had returned home, or, worse were stuck in the snarl up somewhere.

As the crowds began to flow out of the stadium again, the mood shifting from anticipatory to something darker, a wonderful gesture by a clever member of the police force lifted spirits. He had parked across the flow of people to guide them away from a flooded area and blaring from his car’s speakers was Elton John in concert. Everyone caught the mood, singing and jigging down the road. That was a journey. Thousands of people on foot, keeping an eye out