Kia ora e te whānau!
Well, we had been planning for this message to be carrying the good news of the re-introduction of Sunday gatherings as a church in February, but sadly those plans are on the back-burner again as our nation moves back to Red Light settings, and the focus shifts to a coming wave of Omicron.
With that news, we just want to say again that our priority is very much on pastoring you, our beloved church, in this pandemic context. We have already started to say a few times this year: our sense is to double-down on seeking the work of Jesus' reorder in this disordered time. Come what may, the Way of Jesus still works in the future ahead, and we continue to pray that we would become a loving, faithful and non-anxious presence in this time.
So, we have a couple of things to update you on how we're going to navigate this Red Light setting ahead. Here we go, in no particular order...
1. We’re intentionally prepping for several months of caring for people in the coming Omicron-context, and practically for those in isolation: One of the good works of the Church has always been the gift of presence and neighbouring to each other. Let's not be alone in these months ahead but commit to neighbouring those around us, and each other. Let's look out for ways to help, and also, ask for help. Practically, we are now planning the preparation of care boxes full of essentials for people isolating that can be delivered if needed, and a delivery network of helping hands to pick up things like groceries for people in isolation. More details of these will be on our website later this week.
2. Red Light means no Sunday Hall Gatherings, but we are continuing online with our Sunday Epistles format: Though we won't be gathering to hear sermons, we will continue to deliver you our Biblical teaching and encouraging messages on Sunday via the Sunday Epistle formats (a written letter to read or the video to watch or audio podcast to listen to.) We have heard from so many of you how this range of formats has been a blessing to you wherever you were at, and we hope that will be the same again for the months ahead.
3. February focus: Community: We’re going to spend February teaching on Jesus' vision for discipleship in community (no lone-wolfing allowed!) and a fresh call to sharing life in Circles. Along with a Biblical teaching series, we're also prepping a training night for new Circle leaders in February, so if you're interested in forming a Circle, there will be a fresh on-ramp for you to begin. As you feel comfortable doing so, we invite you to gather in your Circles, or perhaps you will prefer to do this online in Zoom. Maybe your Circle is large, maybe it's just a couple of close friends. But the key question is: no matter the format, are you doing your discipleship journeywithsome other people? We'll be exploring this all of February and look forward to helping you discover the rich Way of life with others this year.
4. 24/7 Prayer Room space: Our usual tradition as a church is to start the year with a week of prayer, and last year we set this up in the upstairs of Community House. This year we have decided to set up the Prayer Room not just for a week, but long term as a 24/7 Prayer Room space until further notice. We are inviting you to come to this curated and consecrated space anytime in Omicron Red to come and pray, either with others, or just for yourself. The Prayer Room will thematically sit in our disorder-to-reorder theme of our year, and help us to pray our way through this moment together. All the details for our 24/7 Prayer Room will be online shortly, so stay tuned.
5. Park Gatherings: We ran our Park Gatherings last weekend so that they would work safely under Red settings too, and this weekend it is still our intention to proceed with these gatherings for those who are comfortable doing so, while the weekends are long and the sun is shining to do so. It’s so valuable to get together outside like this during these long weekends, and it was great to see the bunches of those who gathered last weekend - we really enjoyed the connection! You'll be able to sign up to the Park Gatherings for this week in the Friday Weekly Connector.
So, that's our update. There's a bit in there, but we want to convey that we are focussed on what's ahead, we're getting what we need to ready for it, and we're deeply committed to doing this all in the Way of Jesus, together as a community seeking His presence.
In Jesus' Way of love, grace and peace,
– Team CV