**SUNDAY SERVICES SUSPENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE**
*All midweek gatherings, groups & meetings also cancelled.*
For up-to-date info: http://stann.es/coronavirus
The Archbishops have just issued a letter informing us that Sunday services and other mid-week gatherings will have to stop with immediate effect until further notice. This means our Mothering Sunday service will now not be taking place.
While this new may not come as a shock to us (given the Prime Minister’s advice yesterday), this is still likely to unsettle us as we get our heads around what this will mean for the foreseeable future. To quote the Archbishops: Being a part of the Church of England is going to look very different in the days ahead. Our life is going to be less characterised by attendance at church on Sunday, and more characterised by the prayer and service we offer each day. We may not be able to pray with people in the ways that we are used to, but we can certainly pray for people. And we can certainly offer practical care and support.
In the absence of weekly services, we are looking into ways we can continue to “meet” and encourage one another via the internet and telephone. We may use services such as Facebook Live or Zoom. We will be in touch later in the week to let you know how we hope to go about this.
In this time of fear and isolation, it is all the more important that we continue to support and keep in touch with each other in appropriate ways. If you or anyone you know is unwell and needs help, please let us know. Similarly, if any of you are anxious and need to chat and pray over the phone, please contact us.
If we can share again the verses we shared with you on Sunday morning:
Paul asks a big question in Romans 8:35:
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
Romans 8:35
And he answers his question rather emphatically in verses 37–39:
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8: 37–39
We may be separated physically from each other at the moment. But if we trust in Jesus, nothing will ever be able to separate us from him and his love. Even in the midst of this pandemic, we are more than conquerors because of Jesus and his love.
With much love in Christ,
Ian & Matt