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Wednesday 10 June 2020 Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, We are now preparing to re-open the church building and I am very grateful to all those who are working hard to make this happen. This coming Sunday, 14th June, we have our 'test service' with our council, sidepeople, readers and a few others. Please do pray for those involved in that service. From the following Sunday, 21st June, everyone will be welcome to come to church; in order to fit in more people there will be a service in the church and a service in the upper hall which will run at the same time. However, numbers will still be limited as we have to abide by the 2 metre distance guidelines, so those who wish to attend will need to book their seat. I will send out details about 'booking' your seat in my next email. Meanwhile, I am attaching our Schutzkonzept which is a shorter version of our return to church document (also attached). Please do read these documents which take into consideration both the guidelines from the Swiss authorities and from the Diocese of Europe.You will see that in following these guidelines, church will feel very different. I am aware that those people who are willing to take more risks for themselves may think that the guidelines are too strict, but we need to remember that we have a responsibility to think of others and to protect the vulnerable. This is part of our Christian love for one another. Some of you may have discovered that different denominations and churches are doing things slightly differently. It is much easier for a very small congregation worshipping in a very large building; for them the guidelines will not be too dificult to implement. For us it will be more of a challenge. I do ask that we try to be patient and good humoured with one another as we bear with these challenges! As we approach the re-opening of our church for worship on Sundays, we will continue to hold our online services and meetings. Tomorrow, our lectio divina meeting is at 10.30am. This involves listening to a short passage of Scripture several times with periods of silence in between. At the end of the silence there is an opportunity to share our insights together. It is a wonderful opportunity to meditate on some words of Scripture and allow those words to feed our hearts and minds. If you would like to join us, please let me know and I can send you the link. On Sunday, the Men's Bible Study Group will meet at 10.45am as usual, even though some of the regular participants will be in the church. The Coffee Discussion Group will meet via zoom at 11.30am. If you would like the link for either of these activities please let me know. We are called as the Body of Christ to share one another's burdens; to rejoice with those who rejoice, and to weep with those who weep. At the moment many of us are concerned for Kathy Hoag as she is very seriously ill in hospital. Please pray for her, that she will be enfolded in God's love and know his peace. 'Bless those who persecute you; bless them and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another: do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.' (Romans 12: 14-16) O gracious and holy Father,
With love in Christ,
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