Covid-19
Dear Friends,
I do hope that you are keeping safe and well as yet another week in lockdown has passed. I hope that you are able to keep busy in whatever way you can to fill your time, but planning for activities in the garden or outdoors may have been halted this week with the variable weather !
This week Wil Slight has celebrated her 90th Birthday and we all send her our love and best wishes. Wil wishes to send her thanks for the many cards, gifts, flowers and good wishes she has received. She was able to spend her special day socially distanced outdoors in the garden with her family.
After Trinity Sunday last week, the Methodist Church now moves to what is called in the lectionary ‘Ordinary Time’. Perhaps we need to rename this to ‘Extraordinary’ given the fact that many things we take for granted are currently on hold. Signs of hope however continue and each week the number of people infected with Coronavirus is starting to stabilise and further positive changes are slowly being introduced to ease lockdown. You may have heard that the Government has agreed to Churches being open for private prayer very soon. The Methodist Church has chosen to consider this further at the Methodist Conference at the end of June so we await further guidance. Sadly it will not just be as simple as reopening the Church doors. We will have to consider how we can safely arrange the Church to maintain social distancing and think about handwashing and regular deep cleaning. We want to ensure the safety of everyone on our premises and we therefore have to plan carefully, perhaps for a phased approach to opening. We will however be planning so that we can meet again together in Church as soon as it is safe to do so.
During these extraordinary times, many people continue to connect with Church via telephone, internet Zoom services or through using our weekly worship sheet. For some Churches the congregation has in fact grown over the past few months through the use of technology so we are grateful for the unexpected positive outcomes this has created. We recognise however the anxiety, anguish, distress and bereavement which Coronavirus, social distancing and isolation has created for many.
During this difficult time, Christian Aid has asked for our prayers for the people of Africa, where the Coronavirus pandemic is overwhelming health systems. Christian Aid is calling for the cancellation of debt repayments from African countries this year. According to the World Health Organisation, there are fewer than 2000 ventilators and 5000 intensive care beds across the entire African region. In addition a new wave of crop eating locusts has been devastating East Africa, in some parts the worst seen for 70 years. The locusts have reached South Sudan, where millions of people are already suffering from severe food shortages amid conflict and political instability. This level of tragedy and suffering is extreme and demands our prayers and our action. The practical help provided from Christian Aid and many other charities is making a huge difference. Our problems and challenges in comparison, whilst difficult are small and we should count our blessings.
As we think of counting our blessings I came across this poem, sadly it seems to be from an anonymous source.
Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses,
Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean:
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Count on God, instead of yourself.
As you pray, please think of those who are ill with Coronavirus and the families of those who have died. Please also hold in prayer all those who are delivering caring and essential services to help keep us safe. Please pray for those on our prayer list.
Frank & Barbara
Jane
Ken & Pat
Rev Alec
Don
Margaret
Alan
Doreen
Pat
Danni
Beaulah
Bishop Michael, Cynthia and Edward following the death of Aiden
Please do continue if you are able to pray at 6pm each evening and join with others from our Church so that we can unite in the power of prayer.
During June we celebrate Bible month and focus on the Book of Ruth. Bible studies will be held on Thursday evenings at 6.50pm. We hope that as many of you as possible will be joining these on Zoom, either by video or by phone using the same Zoom link and codes below.
If you would like to join the Sunday Morning Service by Zoom just after 11am
Join Zoom Meeting – just click on the link and you’ll be placed in a waiting area and Rev Linda will let you in. This is a safeguarding measure.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8628647498?pwd=jq8dRt2RWHQT1VY9BkR4z8nAd1nEJg
or just click here.
Meeting ID: 862 864 7498
Password: 234308
OR Dial one of the following telephone numbers:
0203 481 5237
0203 481 5240
0131 460 1196
0203 051 2874
If you are dialling into the services instead of joining them via Zoom online – please use one of the phone numbers shown above and enter the same Meeting ID and Password above.
You are also very welcome to join a telephone act of worship each Sunday at 10am by calling the number below and using the codes as shown.
Dial: 0333 0110 946
When asked enter the
Room number: 47927697 #
When asked enter the
Guest PIN: 1145 #
You can find reflections and biblical stories on our Circuit you tube channel including new material added weekly from Rev Linda, Rev Jeff and others at
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBhbVptj0forVkUfmmsvd_w
or just click here.
I hope these resources are helpful to you .
Please continue to stay safe and know that you are surrounded by the love and prayers of your Church family.
With every blessing
Ian