In March 2020 many things changed, including the way we connected with our church fellowship and worshipped together. We started Zoom church, which has been a greater blessing than expected.
We also started a project called13:10 last March, which was initially intended to be an encouragement for our church fellowship.
Deep Impact is a conference valued not only for its teaching and input, but also its sense of community. So the decision to move Deep Impact online was one we wrestled with, but we felt that the need to come together and be equipped and inspired was very much still there.
Glenn Innes, Chair of our Mission Initiative Group, shares his thoughts on Mission in 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F14_ntqmV6w
I have been greatly inspired by our National Prayer Live gatherings over 2020 and we will be continuing this on a monthly basis into 2021. It is so good to unite together in prayer for our churches, our nation and our world.
Having crossed the threshold of a new year, with or without a lump of coal, what is it that we cherish as our hope for the months that lie ahead?
Carols by Candlelight would normally be a highlight during Advent for many people within in our community and church family but like many things in 2020 it just was not possible to have such an event within in our building. Rather than being discouraged we felt enlivened to create something new and different that everyone could participate in outside of the building and so Carols by Torchlight began to take shape.
Our children’s group at church is normally called Kidzone, but we are now ‘Kidzone in the Garden’ and have been operating entirely outdoors in our church grounds since Sunday August 16th. We originally decided on this because, as we all know, it is safer to meet people outdoors, but now, even as winter approaches, our children and parents do not want to come indoors anymore! Why?
At its worst 2020 has been a nightmare. Often it has not been that bad – it has just been downright frustrating. And every now and then it has felt like an adventure.
I am increasingly becoming aware of the anxiety that is being felt by our younger people that has seemingly increased over the last 8 months or so. Many young people have struggled to balance life, work, play and faith in the midst of social distancing, partial lockdowns and complicated Covid regs at their schools.
Working and supporting doctors and nurses on the coalface at the beginning of the pandemic was incredibly inspirational. They talked about compassion, care, dignity in tones that stirred the heart and made you feel proud and privileged to share that space with them. They had resolved to be everything they needed to be to get through the day and they displayed no outward sign of fear or hesitation and during those first months, for that moment in time, they were one.