Message from Tim

Reopening the church 

The other day Sue shared with me these verses from Zechariah 8:4-6, which she felt might be pertinent to reopening the church: ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age. The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there." This is what the LORD Almighty says: "It may seem marvellous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvellous to me?" declares the LORD Almighty.’

It’s an image of hope which contrasts quite vividly with the reality of recent weeks, where the church has stood largely empty, while young and old alike have stayed at home for their own safety and the safety of others as well.

However, slowly, step by step, church has been resuming its activities. First back were Playschool, meeting two mornings a week, and a graduation service attended by the families of ten children who are leaving us this summer to go up to ‘Big School’. 80% of the families who attended left their details so that we can invite them to other activities organised by BRBC. Our next event for families with children who are school or younger is being planned for 9th August, providing an opportunity for families to enjoy worshipping together in a service that is tailored specifically to meet their needs. We also hope to arrange other more social midweek activities for extended families as well.

We are also open for weddings – just in time for three happy couples to tie the knot this summer, much to their relief after months of uncertainty.

‘And what about the older people?’ I hear you ask. We are starting by inviting those who can only access our services by listening to them on CD to come to church to watch the services together for the Sundays in August. It would be great if we could hold some kind of Communion service, and we have even talked about a baptism service, though whether that is practically possible remains to be seen.

Once the summer is out of the way, and when those of us who have plans to go away have returned, we are hoping to commence a range of different meetings, geared around connecting with a range of different people. Ideas include studies on DIY theology, or looking at Good News in the Bible; liturgical prayer, or more creative styles of worship; maybe a café style meeting where people can share stories of God’s faithfulness to them? If you have a story to tell, I’d be delighted to hear it!

Those of us who have been engaged in producing the online services have been working pretty much at full stretch over these weeks. It takes a huge amount of work to plan, source material, record, upload, copy and distribute everything. So if we are going to expand the range of what we do, it will take more people to get involved, and I have been greatly encouraged by those who have come forward with suggestions and offers of help. Working together will draw us closer together, and where we all actively play our part, the church begins to thrive. I am quite excited at the prospect. God is doing something new, as we begin to trim our sails to catch the wind of his Spirit.

All of that is a long way off from the morning service that some of us have known and loved at Brighton Road for decades. But the way the world has changed means that we can’t worship like that anymore and whether life really will get back to normal by Christmas remains to be seen. In a changed world, church looks and feels very different, but it is still church and God is still God – thankfully he is the same yesterday, today and forever – utterly trustworthy and constant in his love and care for us. We may no longer be able to sing hymns together, but we can still discover fresh and meaningful ways to worship and serve him, and that goes for all of us, whether we are resting on our walking sticks, or running around playing games, or somewhere in between. As members of his great family, we all belong to each other and to him.