Hi Everyone,

We are in difficult and very troubling times, but it is in this kind of situation that we as a church can SHINE!!!

Our daily life is going to have to change.  We have been told we must implement social distancing and must accept social isolation but I like to think that it is only distancing in a physical sense.  My prayer is that, if anything, we will become socially closer as we maximise the use of social media and are diligent in phoning one another.

So because we take our responsibility towards you seriously and to those around us, & because we realise that faith and wisdom are not in opposition,  we are going to make some changes for the next 3 months as suggested by the government.  With immediate effect we must stop all Sunday meetings, home groups, prayer meetings and social gatherings in order to protect you and to play our part in protecting our community.  It is clear anyway that those over 70, pregnant or with serious underlying health problems (respiratory, cardio vascular, diabetes etc) will have to self isolate for 3 months.

Please don't despair!  We have known what was coming for a while and have been making plans.  We will be aiming to 'do church' but differently.  We will look to live stream or post messages each Sunday for you to watch at home.  We are also looking into some Bible teaching podcasts that you could watch and discuss with those in your home group midweek.  We're working on Whatsapp for small groups and across the church. If you are not comfortable with that there is always the opportunity to phone each other regularly for a chat.  All sorts of ideas are being worked on so we can be together, all united and no one feeling alone or isolated.

I promise you this -  we will get through this and we as leaders will do everything possible for those who are having to self isolate.  We will help you in every spiritual and practical way.  For those whose work is affected by the virus and experience financial difficulties we will be here to help you.  We will stand together.

This is  not the end of church!  It's just the physical meeting together that is on hold - we are the church and we will continue to be church.  This is the beginning of a whole new way of advancing the kingdom and who knows when we come back to meeting together maybe we will find we have gained so much from all these other ways of socialising, encouraging and inspiring others.

We trust God, he is Almighty God and we continue to pray that the church will remain untouched by the virus.  Join me now as we move forward together and be totally assured of our love and determination to be with you and support you at this time.

Love

Dave XXX