Dear Siblings in Christ,
You may have heard that the government is allowing church buildings to open for private prayer from Monday 15th June and for community worship at the earliest from sometime in July. Our Methodist Connexion has advised us not to open for private prayer unless it is essential to our ministry, which at this point, we do not deem it to be. There is a long and complex checklist that we will have to follow whenever we do decide that we are ready to open our buildings, and it will take time to prepare the building and provide training. Your church leadership team and stewards will be working on this, but we will proceed as a Circuit slowly, with much caution, and each church will re-open on a timeline that makes sense for that specific church community. So, please understand, even when the government gives the go-ahead for community worship, your local church may not be opening on the government start date, and that when we do open, worship will look a little different. We also understand that many of you, for health reasons, will be unable to immediately return when your church opens, and we are committed to continuing to provide at-home options for worship.
Meanwhile, we stay connected by phone, email, zoom and videos. We also have letters, CDs and DVDs being sent to those without computers. I give thanks that the government restrictions are being gradually lifted and that those in the shielded category, the highest level of risk, can now leave their homes to go outside, provided they maintain 2 metres distance. I know that this has been really hard for so many of you, and I continue to hold you all in my prayers.
Rev. Andrew Sankey has a series of Bible Studies for Bible Month that you are invited to participate in. You can watch the first one on the first chapter of the book of Ruth.
I will be leading a Zoom discussion on faith and current events to talk about racism on Thursday 25th June from 10 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. (Contact me for Zoom access)
Museum Street has begun a Wednesday virtual coffee morning by Zoom from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. each Wednesday. Landseer Road and Chantry folk are welcome to join in this time together, and if there are enough people participating, we can split up into multiple ‘rooms’. (Contact me for Zoom access).
Reminder: Arts & Craft Fair. At this time of year, the Ipswich Methodist Circuit normally holds their biennial Arts and Craft competition. This year we have had to cancel this due to the Coronavirus pandemic. However, we know that there are many of you out there that are creating all kinds of wonderful Art and Craft pieces and we would like to give you the chance to show the rest us what you have been up to. To this end the Circuit is planning to hold an online Arts and Crafts exhibition in July. There are going to be no specific categories as such but we welcome your Sewing, Knitting, Gardening, Painting, Woodwork, Model making, Baking, Restorations, Candle making, Photography, Drawing…. anything at all that is keeping you busy during these difficult times. To enter, please take a photograph or video of your creations. Entries need to be sent in by 30th June. We look forward to receiving your entries and sharing these across the circuit. See full details here.
I am keeping you in my prayers. May God’s peace be with you all,
In Christ
–Pastor Joan
Joan’s Jottings are written to the churches at Museum Street, Landseer Road and Chantry where Joan is the minister, and shared here for all to read.