Rev. V.G.B. King was one of Anglican Family Care’s forebears. Health historian Warwick Brunton imagines how he might have reflected on his ministry during the 1918 influenza pandemic and its relevance to the Covid-19 pandemic had he been alive today.

Warwick writes in an email to us:

For several days, I have felt called to write a reflection as an historian that might marry insights from the 1918 influenza pandemic in Dunedin, the current Covid-19 pandemic, and Holy Week. The attachment is my offering which I hope you might consider including with a news update this week.
You will see that I have tried to envisage the possible perspective of Rev. V.G. Bryan King, Dunedin's [city] Missioner in 1918. King's contribution during the 1918 pandemic was inspirational and deeply respected by the people of Dunedin. A reminder of that contribution and the insights derived from it are very timely.

See an article in the Otago Daily Times 9 March 2020 which picked up on the work Warwick has been doing. One mistake that Rev'd Hugh Bowron has pointed out in the ODT article was it reports the Flu Pandemic organiser as being the Rev'd Bryan King, Vicar of St Peter’s Caversham, who in fact died in 1915. Vincent was his son.

Warwick's article is attached below...  

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The following poem was written in 1869 by Kathleen O’Mara, and reprinted during 1918-9 Spanish Infuenza Pandemic. 

And people stayed at home 
And read books 
And listened 
And they rested 
And did exercises 
And made art and played 
And learned new ways of being 
And stopped and listened 
More deeply 
Someone meditated, someone prayed 
Someone met their shadow 
And people began to think differently 
And people healed. 
And in the absence of people who 
Lived in ignorant ways 
Dangerous, meaningless and heartless, 
The earth also began to heal 
And when the danger ended and 
People found themselves 
They grieved for the dead 
And made new choices 
And dreamed of new visions 
And created new ways of living 
And completely healed the earth 
Just as they were healed.