Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
During this very strange (and strained!) time of Covid19, our leadership has been working hard for us to make it as possible as they can for us to gather together. We were created to gather, to meet, because we are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). We were created to meet with or to fellowship with God – a stupendous and unique privilege and the greatest joy – and second only to fellowshipping with or enjoying God, to fellowship or relate with each other. Sadly, as you know only too well, we are all, from the youngest to the oldest feeling the absence of gathering as our church.
Due to God’s kind gift of amazing technology we are, however, still able to experience something of those relationships with each other for which God has made us. But it is strained and wearing for us all, isn’t it?
We are full of questions about how long present arrangements will continue, and when we can “get back to normal”.
I want to let you know the recommendations and plans now in place as a result of the really hard work our Covid19 Task Force has been doing over recent weeks.
Based on obedience to the governing authorities (Romans 13) love for our brothers and sisters in Christ and our local communities, and following directions and suggestions from the Archbishop, we have in place now both the proper requirements for the present situation and the necessary practices for preparing to meet face to face in the future.
Here are details of the present situation:
No church services are taking place in our St Peter’s or St Andrew’s buildings. Instead, all Sunday services are able to be watched online. Let me tell you what happens on the ground.
When services are either recorded (8am St Peter’s, 9.30am St Andrew’s) or streamed live (10am and 6pm at St Peter’s) only the people directly involved upfront or behind the scenes are present – the number varies from 3 to 10. Because these are actual services on church premises, by regulation there can now only be 1 singer, musicians must be properly distanced from each other, and there can be no “congregational” singing of hymns/songs or joint reciting of prayers etc. Other attendees – technicians, Bible readers, preachers, etc. have to observe distancing requirements.
And more. All people attending are required to record their attendance, answer a brief questionnaire about their state of health, whether they have recently visited a ‘notified location’ etc., and are to be refused entry if any of these apply. In addition all are to sanitise their hands and properly distance from one another while on the premises. In addition, there is to be no “mingling” before or after the time of the service and no provision of food or drink. And to top it all off, the building being used has to be sanitised and toilets properly cleaned after each use.
This all sounds very complicated and hard to remember! But, like most other “businesses” where people gather, we have begun training and appointing Covid19 Marshalls for every gathering on our premises. While we are in early days yet, and those who are Marshalls are already part of the service teams, we are looking to all of you who are able to do so, to volunteer for this task. We need lots of people belonging to both 9.30am at St Andrew’s, 10am and 6pm at St Peter’s to volunteer for those gatherings, and perhaps 8am at St Peter’s people also to be involved at 10 or 6 even though they will not yet be needed for the recording of their service; it would be good for some to train.
A training manual has been written for Covid19 Marshalls. This will be available online, but a walk-through the manual will be necessary and done online via Zoom. We will start with handfuls and slowly increase the numbers being trained as time goes on.
What about other ministries and groups that use our premises?
We have registered our church-wide Covid19 Safety Plan with the Department of Health. It has been drawn up using the Department’s approved template and will be adjusted as circumstances change with the progress or decline of the pandemic.
We have tried to ensure our Plan applies as much as possible to individual ministries like kids and youth ministries, Junior Jivers etc. as well as services (Sundays or Wednesdays) and Growth Groups meeting on church premises.
Some of these however, by Government regulation, will have added requirements to fulfil which will be documented for the group’s Covid19 Marshalls’ use. For example, Junior Jivers will need to sanitise any floor space they need for kids to sit or lie on as well as any toys or other play equipment they use.
Any outside group using our premises will need to have registered their own Covid19 Safety Plan which must also have our wardens’ and my approval to meet.
On behalf of us all, I want to thank the task force led by Jason Manning for an immense amount of work to bring us to this point. If you get the chance thank God for John Brackenbury, Mick Bullen, Adrian and Bek Culbert, Kevin Hines, Jason Manning, James Massey and Sharon Richards.
The big question now is: When can we start gathering again?
Please note: The task force is preparing a documented checklist for use as the wardens and I decide to approve services or ministries recommence meeting.
The wardens, other ministry staff and I are receiving weekly updates from the Archbishop’s office (we are very grateful to Glenn for directly approaching the Minister for Health about a number of matters on which his department had either said nothing or not enough – Peter Hayward has been indefatigable in his support for our churches and clergy as well). This advice and counsel needs to be taken into ongoing account.
When we do start, we will not be caught unprepared, but will have thinking and practices in place whose only adjustment will be to the numbers involved. (Like in yesterday’s sermon on Genesis 1, we have the first 3 days of creation – the “form” – in place; now it’s a matter of “filling it up” ! You may need to re-watch the sermon to get the point!)
So, what is proposed?
We will look first at re-commencing the youth and then kids’ ministries on site. Given that schools, pre-schools and childcare are now open almost everywhere, and that kids are less vulnerable to Covid19 than adults, this seems a logical first step. So along with consulting with the wardens, I plan to meet with our leaders in these ministries this week and decide when these ministries can commence meeting on site.
Tentatively, I think the next ministry to return to onsite meeting may well be any Growth Groups and again I will be talking with leaders so we can decide the best way forward.
I am trying to get up to speed as quickly as possible concerning our services before making any decision about their re-commencing to meet. I don’t feel as yet that I have a good understanding of them, but even so, we will need in any decision to account for the added factor of restricted numbers in each of our meeting places due to physical distancing requirements.
I hope this letter has answered most of the general questions many of us will have. I am very happy, as I know the wardens are, to try and answer specific questions which might be concerning you.
I close with these two paragraphs from a recent letter from Glenn, our Archbishop:
We still have a long way to go with this new way of living under the shadow of coronavirus. We possibly have a long way to go with changing restrictions to our way of life, as Victoria is currently experiencing. When the Apostle James wished to encourage his readers to be patient, until the coming of the Lord, he cited ‘the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord’ as an ‘example of suffering and patience’ (James 5:11). Under the new covenant, we too speak in the name of the Lord, but unlike Job and the prophets, we have seen ‘the purpose of the Lord’ in the face of Jesus Christ.
In these challenging circumstances, may our merciful God grant us patience and perseverance, to glorify him in this life, as we await the life to come.
Amen!
Your brother,
Deryck
Acting Senior Minister