COVID-19 Update - 14th March, 2020

Good afternoon church

As you will have seen from the news, we are now in the 'Delay' phase of our government's response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), but at the moment there is no further advice that prevents us meeting as a church tomorrow. Tomorrow we will be studying what God's word says about healthy living. 

As elders, we are continuing to monitor the guidance provided, and so we are making the following changes to our Cafe Service tomorrow:Most importantly, please do not come to church if you have a persistent cough, a high temperature or any other symptoms of the Coronavirus. If you are in a high-risk category, please feel free to minimise the risk by staying at home - the choice is yours, and we don't want you to feel pressured to come to church. We will be recording the service so that you can view it from home by the end of the day. 

• Please ensure that you wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water as you arrive and before you eat and follow the advice given about preventing the spread of the virus. As a reminder, you can find this advice here. 
• We will be serving individual croissants from the counter using food tongs to minimise the risk of anyone passing on the virus. There will be no butter or jams available. Parents, please communicate this with your children so that they know what to expect. 
• Those serving the food will ensure good food hygiene and will be wearing rubber gloves

I also thought it would be useful for you to see a post from the Archbishop of Canterbury below:

As we continue responding to Coronavirus, a lot of us are wondering how we can walk in faith, resist fear, and support those who are most vulnerable.

The first thing to say is that following the advice of experts – especially about washing our hands regularly and self-isolating if we have cold or flu symptoms – is a really important place to start.

But what else can we do? Well, the thing about having hope, faith and courage is that although they are gifts from God, we can do our bit to nurture them.

We can take some time to sit quietly and pray, letting God know about those things that are on our hearts and minds. When we do that, we make that connection with God that nourishes and sustains us.

We can pray for those who are physically vulnerable. Those who are financially insecure and worried about needing to take time off work. Those who live in countries without public healthcare systems. Those who do not have family or friends and are facing this situation alone.

We can pray for healthcare workers and political leaders who are responding to this crisis and bearing the incredible responsibility of trying to keep us safe. 

That brings us to resisting fear. One way to avoid being overwhelmed by fear is turning our attention to helping someone. Is there a person in your life, or your community, that you could call on the phone and see if they’re okay? Maybe it was someone that you prayed for?

Perhaps they can’t get to the shops – could you pick up some groceries for them? Perhaps they are self-isolating and feeling lonely – could you call them on the phone and see how they are?

If you have some spare income, or some spare food, could you donate to your local food bank?

Let’s remember that we are in this together. Let’s look after ourselves and our communities, gain courage from each other, and walk together in hope and faith.

As it says in Psalm 46: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”