Today marks the day when the Covid rules changed again in England. And so, as promised, we are looking to re-introduce some things to church life which we put on pause for the month of January. Here is a summary of our changes:
Sunday Mornings from Sunday 6th February
We will no longer insist on the wearing of masks in our Sunday morning service. However, we will continue to encourage their use for the time being, especially when we sing. The church building will continue to be ventilated, and we will maintain more socially distanced seating towards the back of the church.
We will also continue to rotate our Growth Groups with two groups sitting in the Overflow, in order to create more space in the main church auditorium.
However, the main change is the return of refreshments being served after the morning service! We have missed the opportunity to spend time with each other post-service. So do make the most of the opportunity by coming through to the halls. We will again provide some board games / activities in the Main Hall for the younger generation. But parents, please do be keeping an eye out to ensure that your children aren't running around with the dangers of hot drinks and elderly members to crash into.
And if you'd like to help us serve refreshments, please do let us know. This is one of many teams which still has lots of space for more help.
Photo by Taisiia Shestopal on Unsplash
Sunday Evenings from Sunday 6th February
We will resume meeting in person again on Sunday evenings. From 6pm refreshments will be served - so do aim to come along early to spend time chatting with others. The evenings are held in the Main Hall, and involve singing, discussion, listening to God's word and prayer.
The room is ventilated and for the time being, facemasks will be encouraged when we sing.
And for those unable to make it in person, we will continue to offer Zoom as a means for joining in with the service.
In our Growth Groups this week we looked at what Jesus taught us regarding prayer in Matthew 6:9-13
‘This, then, is how you should pray:
‘“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
Sunday night's offer a privileged opportunity to come to "our Father in heaven" and pray to him together. If you've got out of the habit of church on a Sunday evening, why not use this restart as an opportunity for a new routine.