We are picking up our sermon series in the letter to the Hebrews, which we left off in October last year. I will be speaking on how it is possible to have a clear conscience.
With COVID restrictions being gradually lifted, we now have a working plan for our return to public gathering. In thinking this through, we are bearing in mind that nearly half of the congregation were not yet sure about returning to the building in person. As a result, we will start with fewer gatherings per Sunday, and gradually build it back up to our usual three.
Here is the plan:
- 8 am service continues as a live online service for the time being.
- We will continue to record our 9.30 service and make it available on Youtube.
- Evening service returns to physical gathering in the Parish Room from this Sunday. As there is a limit of 30 people gathering in the Parish Room, it will also be available live online.
- On Sunday 28th June, at 10 am, we will hold a trial Morning Communion service, with Sunday School and Youth programs, to help us iron out any teething programs. This will be for 50 people maximum, by pre-arrangement. If you’d like to be there, please email the church office. First in!
- Starting on Sunday 26th July, we will hold a Morning Communion service at 10 am, with Sunday School and Youth programs.
Because singing is not allowed, the 10 am Morning Communion will be a spoken communion service. It won’t be a replica of either 8 am or 9.30 am. Once this service threatens to breach the 50 person limit, we will look at re-opening for two Sunday morning services.
There are various COVID safe tasks for which we need to have volunteers in place before we can open our doors. Please get in touch if you’d like to be part of this team. We are going to have a training session at 12 pm next Sunday (21st June) to get ready for this. Please come along!
I realise that this move back in-person is going to be too slow for some and too fast for others. I must admit I am uncomfortable at how slow it is, but I also feel it is the wise way to proceed at this stage.
At the time of writing, the news continues to be dominated by the unrest in the USA resulting from the wrongful death of George Floyd. It is deeply distressing that racial tensions should still exist in a country where so many call themselves followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom “there is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female” (Galatians 3:28). Could I urge you to pray for peace in that nation, and for more people to bow to Jesus in such a genuine way that that we show real, costly love for one another.
Our Archbishop has also made a public statement at https://sydneyanglicans.net/mediareleases/pray-for-america