For the last few months, our family has taken up watching the BBC costume drama, “Lark Rise to Candleford”. The television series is based upon the novels written by Flora Thompson. These books were published around World War Two, but all the activity of the novels reflects the life of the author in England, during the closing decades of the 1800’s. I am unable to comment on how faithful the television series is to the original story line of the novels because I just received my copy of the books this week through the Post Office. Actually, it is exactly the Post Office that is the centerpiece of the television production. The author’s cousin, fictionally named Dorcas Lane, is the postmistress of the Victorian-era Post Office in Candleford. The author, fictionally named Laura Timmins, is taken on as an assistant at this Post Office. It is quite a change for her, when compared to her life in the impoverished rural hamlet of Lark Rise. How society deals with the rapid changes that occurred in late-Victorian culture is the theme throughout the episodes. Still, I find the Post Office most interesting. Daily, letters come in and go out in a steady circle of communication. Patrons come into the office to buy stamps, send telegrams, and generally keep in touch with the news of the town. All of this exchange occurs under the watchful and discrete eye of the postmistress. It is a joy to watch.
Perhaps, the reason I like the scenes around the Post Office so much is that it brings back so many memories. When I lived in Newtown, Newfoundland, the Post Office was the hub of the town’s activities. It would take me an hour to get the mail, even though I lived only a couple hundred yards for the building.  The postmistress was one of the first people that I met upon my arrival to my new posting. I remember her distinctly, for I found it odd that she did not care for the taste of fish, and she was a Newfoundlander! She was truly a wonderful person. Each day, the local fishermen would pick up their mail and ask each other how the fishing was going. The standard question of the day to everyone during the winter was, “Got your moose yet b’y?” I usually teased them by telling them that for me to get a moose, he’d have to jump into my freezer. Truthfully, as the local minister, many folks just dropped off some to my family out of kindness. When I arrived in Arthur, the Post Office was again a priority stop. Now, after almost nine years, it still takes me a long time to get from the church office to the Post Office and back again. There is always someone to have a conversation with along the way. I have come to enjoy it so much, that I really feel sorry for those city folks who have home postal delivery. Look how much they are missing. I even read about a small town out east that refused home delivery when it was offered to them! They know what I’m talking about.
The love of receiving mail and forming relationships with others, around the mail, has been here since Jesus’ time. If you examine the New Testament of the Bible carefully, you will notice that the great majority of the so-called “books” of the New Testament are actually letters. There are letters from Paul, Peter, John, and James. The recipients are as diverse as the Roman Empire. Still, all these congregations looked forward to the news that accompanied every missive. Here is a Lenten challenge for you. Try reading the “letters” of the New Testament as if they were mail recently delivered to you. Also, be aware of the personality behind the writing each letter. Hopefully, like the modern Post Office, the word will get out.