Keeping In Touch – March 24 2020

Hi All,

You may have received some strange emails from me over the past few days as I have been sorting out some different means of messaging members of Balhannah Uniting Church that will better suit our needs through this time of transition.

I call it a time of transition as I don’t think that things will return to normal. We are moving towards a new normal. This doesn’t mean that familiar things and behaviours won’t return. They will. We will, sometime soon, be able to gather together again for prayer, singing and fellowship. But we also won’t be able to forget what we learn through this time.

Remember a few short weeks ago when I talked about our Lenten Discipline? That is our annual time of review and learning. It’s become very real, very quickly.

What can we learn?

1. Our relationships are precious and need to be nurtured and maintained. Social distancing used to be seen as a bad thing. Now its an expectation. Anyone who has had an extended illness understands this. Phone calls, emails, text messages, cards and letters all build our friendships and relationships. Sometimes in ways that are more intent than through gathering together in the same space.

2. Church has never really been about our buildings. Now is our opportunity to demonstrate that to our communities. Church hasœ not disappeared or stopped. The people of God continue to work, worship and witness regardless of how or when we meet.

3. We are all in this together

What will be be doing?

Church Council has put in place a team of pastoral care leaders who each have a contact list of folks to talk with regularly. This doesn’t mean that they are the only ones doing this though. Make your own list of friends you want to keep in touch with. And perhaps think about speaking with folks that you don’t know that well. Get in touch and offer each other support with a 2 minute call.

I aim to produce a weekly video message and collate some suitable online resources that I will put on our website at https://balhannah.org

I will also produce a special weekly edition of InTouch with news, information and requests for prayer.

If you have some information to share then email it to intouch@balhannah.org and I will include it.

If you need practical assistance to help you shelter then feel free to email me at minister@balhannah.org

We are all in the same boat here. No one has more experience of this than anyone else. We are all learning and growing.