Coronavirus
Opening the Church for worship
Consideration is currently being given to the best and safest way of opening the church for worship again. As soon as there is any news on thisit will be published on this page
Other Church Activities
Similarly, as soon as other activities are able to start again we will let you know.
Weekly Meditations
Ruth is leading weekly meditations on Thursday evenings at 6.00 pm. You can join her by going to Facebook. (If you go to the bottom of the St John's Community Team page in this website, there is a link to the appropriate Facebook page. Then click on "videos" on the left hand side of the page)
Letter from our Circuit Superintendent Minister
29th July
Preparing to reopen our buildings - remember the church has always been open
I hope that you continue to keep well and are also managing to keep in touch with one another. I continue to pray for you all. It has been superb to hear how people are talking to each other for far longer than they ever have and that they are finding out more and more about each other. This has been a strange time and we have learnt so much to take us into the future or the new norm as we are hearing it called.
As we think about the new future it is exciting, the new challenges we can explore, and new ways of doing things. We are beginning the process of risk assessments on all of our buildings as we explore whether we are ready to reopen them and what that will look like, it will certainly be very different. We are risk assessing the reopening of our buildings, not our worship. Our church has always been open; we have continued to worship together, it is only the building that has been closed.
We all know that if we go on public transport or into shops we have to wear masks, and they are encouraged to be worn in enclosed public spaces where there are people that you do not normally meet, such as places of worship. The Methodist Church is encouraging everyone to wear a facemask when we do reopen buildings. There will also be many other instructions which we will send out when a church is ready to open.
We hope to begin reopening some churches in the circuit during September, but for now we still have much to get ready. It will be a phased reopening and it may well mean that churches will not be open every week and not all churches in the circuit will initially be open.
Most important to me and the staff is your safety. I know that we like to gather in the building to worship, to glorify God, and to do that together, however, even if a church is open it does not mean you must come to church. We can worship wherever we are; separately but together. We will continue to produce the Circuit Worship Sheet, the Recorded Service and Zoom Services.
Whether you feel able to return to church or not will be your decision and to help you in your thinking I am enclosing a personal risk assessment. This is not mandatory but for guidance. It has been produced by the URC and I feel it is very helpful. You will see on the back of it how to score yourself and it may well recommend that you continue to participate in church life from home. This must be read in conjunction with government and local advice about staying safe. Please put your safety first and do not think you must go to the church building just because it is open!
I have received these words which I think are very wise
“These last months have proved that virtually anything is possible with the will and the motivation. PLEASE let us not get bogged down in our old anxieties about the way we have always done things. Recent weeks have proved that you never know what can be achieved until you try; always, of course, with reliance on the leading of the Spirit".
This will all take time, please bear with us, continue to pray for one another, stay safe and ask for God’s guidance as we go forward.
God bless
Debbie