On Wednesday night (24 June) the Board of Leadership (BoL) met with the main focus of discussion around gathering for worship.
BoL is aware that this is a key concern for many people at the moment and it is important to acknowledge there are a range of views.
Some of us are eager to get back to worshipping in person as quickly as possible. Others are aware that the distancing requirements do not allow us to have more than 40 people in the church and would prefer to hold off until all can come to worship together. Some of us would prefer to continue to worship from our homes, concerned to look after our health at the current time. In any case, the current set-up for the livestream, with lights and cameras, along with the distancing requirements means that it is not yet practical to come to worship together as a congregation in the church.
Different ways to gather
Attend a mid-week Communion Gathering
Gather in the church hall to watch the Sunday livestream
BoL wants all congregational members to know God’s love to the fullest extent possible as we gather for worship. We will continue to provide the livestream so that we can all worship together. There are now fortnightly mid-week services where we can gather for Holy Communion. We encourage those keen to worship together to meet with others in small groups to watch the livestream (here’s some tips for gathering in homes [PDF]). From next Sunday (5 July), we will also provide the option for congregational members to gather in the church hall to watch the livestream (please register here or contact the office). For those intending to come to a mid-week communion service or to the church hall we ask that you register online or through the church office, so that we can continue to adhere to the distancing requirements. You are also able to go and worship at other congregations where they have returned to worship in person. For example St Peter’s Lutheran Church, Reid, is holding a weekly Sunday service with communion at 10.30am. The most important thing is that you continue to know and experience God’s love for you.
We want to hear from you
Tell us how you’re feeling about returning to in-person worship
BoL wants to hear how you feel about returning to in-person worship and what is most important to you. Please take five minutes to fill out this survey so that we can better understand the priorities for the congregation. BoL continues to keep abreast of the changes to the distancing requirements. At the end of July we will discuss further how we can meet to worship. We will consider the feedback from the congregational survey, take into account the government’s distancing requirements and consider the possibility of worshipping in a larger building or by changing our livestream set-up.