UPDATES AND USEFUL INFORMATION (23rd September 2020)
Dear All
I am sure that
everybody has been watching the news, and the numbers with interest and
concern, these last few days. We remain in extremely uncertain times. Please do
read carefully our comments on the latest advice, especially Test and Trace. Also,
please remember that things can change quickly and we cannot guarantee that all
advice is absolutely current. It is also possible to be reading an out-of-date
posting. Please check the latest government advice in the case of any
uncertainty. I have covered some major points in this week’s briefing, but have
not attempted a comprehensive description of all relevant aspects of using
church buildings. In particular, you do need to seek out and consult the
relevant advice for activities other than worship.
All past emailings and
related documents remain on the Synod coronavirus blog - https://urceasternsynod.blogspot.com/
Meantime, be careful
and stay safe.
Best wishes
Paul
TEST AND TRACE
The NHS Test & Trace app is due to be launched on September 24th for England and Wales.
IT relies on the user being able to scan a QR Code which
all places of worship will be expected to generate and display.
The QR Code Poster
·
All churches therefore
should generate and display an official NHS Test & Protect QR code
poster from September 24th. Currently
the Governments in England and Wales are strongly encouraging Places or Worship
amongst others to display the QR Code poster, rather than requiring it. The United Reformed Church strongly
encourages churches in England and Wales that are open for any purpose to
comply with this.
For full information
on this, and instructions on how to do this, please go either to the Synod blog
- https://urceasternsynod.blogspot.com/2020/09/test-and-trace.html
Or to the URC Coronavirus
information page https://urc.org.uk/images/NHS_Test_and_Trace_app.pdf
Both carry the same
information.
CHOIRS AND
CONGREGATIONAL PARTICIPATION
Congregations still
must avoid singing, chanting, or responding with raised voices. Responses at a
normal volume are permitted, though some may feel it is sensible to avoid
these.
Small choirs are
permitted – but these are now capped at a maximum of six.
Also, additional
mitigation of risk should be in place, including good ventilation and increased
social distancing.
The congregation’s
capacity for worship is the socially distanced capacity of the building. People
may be in ‘bubbles’ at worship, but no bubble should be more than six persons. You
should ensure that people can arrive and leave safely and should reduce the
capacity if necessary to take account of this. A one way system is strongly
encouraged if possible, so that people arrive and leave by different doors. You
should encourage careful and separate leaving after a service and to move on rather
than having conversations in the car park, or similar, which will probably end
up not being adequately socially distanced.
Food and drink should be
avoided.
If you are celebrating
Communion in church, do think very carefully about how this can be done safely,
though it can. I am not aware of any specific URC advice on this – please let
me know if I have missed it and you are aware of it – but you may find it
helpful to consult and consider the Methodist advice - https://www.methodist.org.uk/media/18298/guide-for-holy-communion-10820.pdf
OUTDOOR WORSHIP
The grounds of a church
are subject to the same rules as inside, so the capacity would be the socially
distanced capacity. Worship in a public place requires the permission of the
relevant authorities. Worship in a private place, such as a garden, is subject
to the rule of six.
SYNOD MEETING
The October Synod
meeting will be by Zoom – on the designated date, Saturday 10th
October, and will run from 10am to 1pm.
All welcome, as Synod meetings are not restricted to those who are
members of the meeting. The link to join
the meeting will be on the Synod website and in later editions of this
briefing. We would appreciate it if everyone joining the meeting could do so
using their own name. Though it is not absolutely crucial, attendance records
are helpful – and ‘Grandad’s iPad’ doesn’t really tell us who you are. Better
still, if you can, please add in your church name. But more on this over the
next week or two.
The guest speaker will
be the Revd. Philip Brooks, the URC’s Secretary for Ecumenical and Interfaith
Relations. There will also be an address from the Moderator, some news on how
some churches are coping with Covid and reminders of available resources. Papers
will go out as usual, but we will also make the agenda and key documents available
through this briefing and the blog and/or the website.
HOLY HABITS ROADSHOW – OR (AS IT WILL BE) ONLINE TRAINING
Our new series of training mini videos was launched last week with Paul’s look at a Biblical basis for fellowship – apologies to the ‘early seekers’ who couldn’t find it as it was late in being uploaded. Find Paul’s presentation at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeZbdiWvDi8&t=29s
This week Lindsey takes
a practical look at Fellowship – you should find it easily (once it has been
uploaded, hopefully, but not guaranteed, on Thursday morning), if you go to the
Synod YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtYncbpZJ4PKBBrjrcXBHrw?view_as=subscriber
And next week Nicola
will take an inter-generational look at Fellowship
We will then continue
in the coming weeks with a similar series of looks at three further Holy Habits
- the Breaking of Bread, Giving (or Sharing Resources) and Eating Together.
COMING SOON ….
ELDERSHIP
TRAINING
Does
your church have newly elected Elders, or would existing Elders benefit from a
refresher? We will be holding online training this Autumn covering the
call, trustee responsibilities and working as a team. This would also
benefit trustees working in LEPs. Please email Lindsey to register your
interest.
SYNOD
QUIZ NIGHT
Save
the Date: Monday October 19
Lindsey
and Nicola will be hosting an online quiz for a bit of fun as the Autumn sets
in. Further details regarding teams and how to register to follow.
WALKING
THE WAY DAY
Saturday
November 7
Lindsey
and Nicola had planned a Walking the Way day to be hosted by Mid Essex Area
Partnership in March. This was of course postponed, and a new date set
for November 7th. As this too will not be able to go ahead in person we
have decided to move it online, and open it to the whole Synod. It will
run from 10am- 1pm and cover 3 areas: looking up, joining in and reaching
out. We hope you will join us. For more information and to register
please email Lindsey.
THE
GOSPEL IN 50 WORDS
At
last week's Ministers’ Get Together the Revd Dr Susan Durber challenged our
ministers to write their 'Gospel in 50 words'. If you had to summarise
what the gospel meant to you in just 50 words what would that look like?
Have a go yourself, and feel free to share with us.
FREE
TO USE PHOTOS
The next set of free-to-use photos to go up onto our Facebook page will be on the theme of Creation. See what is there already by going to Facebook and searching for URC Eastern Mission. These photos can be used freely in worship, resources or for reflection. There are also some individual photos on a ‘sister’ to the Synod blog - https://paulsreflectivephotos.blogspot.com/
Story time for the under-fives God made me this way - discover what
makes the animals unique
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-iWbTtjDJc
Singing together
Stuart Townend – Creation sings
Reading watching and listening together
Thinking about Creation and God’s wonderful
world
Psalm 104 (adapted from The Message Version)
Praise the LORD, my soul! O LORD, my God, how great you are! …… You make springs flow in the valleys, and rivers run between the hills. They provide water for the wild animals; there the wild donkeys quench their thirst. In the trees near by, the birds make their nests and sing. From the sky you send rain on the hills, and the earth is filled with your blessings. You make grass grow for the cattle and plants for us to use, so that we can grow our crops and produce wine to make us happy, olive oil to make us cheerful, and bread to give us strength. The cedars of Lebanon get plenty of rain— the LORD's own trees, which he planted. There the birds build their nests; the storks nest in the fir trees. The wild goats live in the high mountains, and the rock badgers hide in the cliffs. You created the moon to mark the months; the sun knows the time to set. You made the night, and in the darkness all the wild animals come out. LORD, you have made so many things! How wisely you made them all! The earth is filled with your creatures. There is the ocean, large and wide, where countless creatures live, large and small alike. The ships sail on it, and in it plays Leviathan, that sea monster which you made. All of them depend on you to give them food when they need it. You give it to them, and they eat it; you provide food, and they are satisfied. … I will sing to the LORD all my life; as long as I live I will sing praises to my God. May he be pleased with my song, for my gladness comes from him.
Psalm 93 A reflective story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0aZ9klGaqM
The Rainbow story - The rainbow that nearly
did not happen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhSSXA-ylYc
A prayer
God of creation,
of time, of space and everything,
you are far greater than our imaginations.
You care about flowers, sparrows,
babies, kings and us – that’s awesome!
We praise you for your concern
for everyone and everything.
Amen.
Prayer safari
Lord, you have made many
things.
With your wisdom you made
them all.
The earth is full of your
riches
Psalm 104:24
Go for a walk and make it your prayer
safari. Look around you, where can you
see things that help you think about amazing things that God has Created. Look for the big and the small things look up
and down and all around you. Sometimes
there are things so small we may not even notice them, but they are all part of
Gods Creation.
As you walk ask God to open your eyes to see
more of him in the world he has created – and praise God for all the things
that you notice as you walk. As you look
around you focus on things which inspire or speak to you of God’s creation.
Taking care of Gods world
The Psalm tells us that the earth is full of Gods riches, but we do not always treat the earth with care and respect. Do you think we act as if the earth is God’s, or sometimes as if it’s ours to do as we want with?
Cut out a circle of blue paper. Take off your shoes and using green paint make a footprint on the circle. Alternatively, you could draw around your feet on the circle and colour them in. Place your world in front of you and take some time to be quiet. Praise God for all that he provides for us and has created. Ask god to help you care for earth pray for your footsteps to tread lightly on the world.
A prayer to say togetherWe praise you Lord God, for the beautiful
world you made for us to live in.
Please help us to look after your world for
you.
Help us to love and care for those around us
both near and far
Help us to use things wisely and think about
things we can reuse
Thank you, Lord God, for the beautiful world
you made for us to live in.
Amen
Creating together
Sun, Moon and Stars Mobile.
You will need:
- some card recycled cereal box or packaging is
good.
- A paper plate or a circle of card the size of a
tea plate.
- Scissors, glue, tin foil, string and wool,
colouring material.
Draw some shapes- you will need stars, circles
for full moon and sunshine and some quarter moon shapes - place these shapes
onto card.Fold paper plate or circle of card into half as shown in picture and wrote the text around It- colour in to look like sky.
Colour the shapes or cover moon with tin foil- you could also cover your star and sun with wool to give texture or add sparkly gems or shiny paper.
Make holes in the separate pieces and the semicircle and arrange to offer differing lengths add a loop and hang up.
Playing together
Star gazing One way of appreciating the wonder of God’s creation is to go out at night and look up at the stars. Sometimes it is hard to see the stars in the town or the city because of light pollution so you may need to take a trip out to somewhere with a bit more natural light. But look up at the sky – you might even take a picnic blanket and lie down so you can look straight up. The longer you look, the more you will see. And each night the sky will look a little bit different as the positions of the stars mark the changing seasons.
URC INFO
All the latest information
(and links to resources) from the United Reformed Church is on the Coronavirus Advice
page of the denomination’s website –
https://urc.org.uk/coronavirus.html
A PRAYER FROM MARQUETTE
UNIVERSITY (Milwaukee, USA)
May we who are merely inconvenienced
remember those whose lives are at stake.
May we who have no risk factors
remember those most vulnerable.
May we who have the luxury of working from home
remember those who must choose
between preserving their health or making their rent.
May we who have the flexibility to care for our children
when their schools close
remember those who have no options.
May we who have to cancel our trips
remember those that have no place to go.
May we who are losing our margin money
in the tumult of the economic market
remember those who have no margin at all.
May we who settle in for a quarantine at home
remember those who have no home.
During this time
when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other,
let us yet find ways to be the loving embrace of God
to our neighbours.
Amen.
Finally,
just a reminder from Lindsey, Nicola and myself that we are still there for you
and, if there is anything you think we might offer, or you just want a chat, then
do contact us:
Our prayers and our best
wishes,
PAUL moderator@urceastern.org.uk 07534
274668
LINDSEY training@urceastern.org.uk 07801
352340
NICOLA cydo@urceastern.org.uk 07515 721172
STAY SAFE - PAUL
No comments:
Post a Comment