The need for communication Through being encouraged to keep in touch we have had some good phone conversations and ( I think)got to know one another better. This leads to a greater appreciation both that we are ' all in this together' but also how different we all are in personality, life experience and gifts, and that we find different aspects of the current situation challenging. I hope this leads to greater self- awareness and acceptance of others generally. I think that anxiety/depression can make a person withdrawn and less likely to ask or see the need for contact so someone in the group making regular contact is important. One member of the group sets me a good example in this.Opportunities to live out our faith?It's good to have more time to listen to other people, now that we are at home without the 'distractions' of nice things like holidays etc. The difficulties give us extra opportunities to acknowledge our dependence on God, to be more trusting in God for the future, and to try to be kinder and more accepting towards others, to try to become more like Jesus.Challenges?Inadequate practical IT skills. We've just communicated by email if it's been sharing info , or by phone for 1:1. I am OK with this. We haven't tried to set up a whatsapp group or zoom meetings.It is difficult getting a balance between keeping in regular contact, but avoiding pestering or prying. Probably all members of our group have concerns about family members and some who would otherwise be busy with practical grandparenting locally feel frustrated they may not or cannot do this. Maintaining good family and friend relationships is harder when we can't meet physically: misunderstandings easily arise and people may take offence more easily when stressed.Prayer points?We thank God that so far we are reasonably well ,or at least stable , and that we are coping practically.Please pray for good communication and family relationships. Pray for us not to feel overwhelmed by unfamiliar things we have to deal with. Pray that we and our loved ones may rest in God's love.
Thought for the week 24th June 2020 Thankfulness Over the next few weeks we are going to be hearing from one of the church network groups about what they have been learning over the past few month and how they have been learning. Then we shall hear what they would like us to pray for. If you would like to be part of a network then please do get in touch, either by phoning myself or Tim, or through the website or Facebook page. This week we are going to hear from Janet’s group. Janet comments on a number of things that her group have been learningFirstly, to give thanks continually. They have been learning to adapt and to be accepting and have discovered that people are much kinder. One member say that they have been so thankful to be able to cope while another feels blessed and closer to God. Family have been important and again another member says there is so much to be thankful for whilst finally people have found that they are praying more. Many people in this group have mentioned being thankful which is so important our outlook and our growth as Christians. Paul says in his letter to the Thessalonians “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”. So, where have they been learning this thankfulness and connection with family and with God. When previous methods of face to face communication have had to stop. For some telephone conversations have been useful, but for many the learning has been both practical and spiritual as they have learnt how to use the internet and platforms like zoom and YouTube. This has enabled them to keep in contact with family and also with their church family through the weekly online services. One member has been able to combine these as their son is a clergyman and they have been following his though for the day each morning. The internet has been such a blessing in giving us this opportunity to communicate. If you want to keep in touch with what is happening specifically with Christ church then do like and subscribe to our YouTube account, and watch our weekly online services. You can find links to them through the website or through our Facebook page. So how can we pray for this group this week. There are some specific prayers for a 12 year old grandchild with a brain tumour, for a medical consultation, for a new baby born during lockdown and for other grandchildren. So let’s pray for those requests now, and if you do have any prayer requests of your own then do feel free to add them in the comments so that we can pray for you too. Let’s pray,Lord Jesus, we come to you with thankful hearts for all the good things that you have given us, thank you for the beautiful area we live in, thank you for those who have been generous with their money supporting the food bank and their time in taking thing to those who have been shielding. Thank you for the gift of the internet that has allowed us to keep in contact with our families and to be able to worship with our church family. Lord we bring to you those we know who are suffering or ill, especially at the moment those mentioned by this group. We ask that you will being healing and peace to those in need. Amen.
At the start of lock down we quickly divided the church congregation into network groups each over seen by a member of the PCC, the leadership team in church. We had to work quickly so at first these groups were made up of just those people that we had permission to use contact details for. GDPR works for churches too. However, the groups began to grow as other people were able to join in. the groups are there to provide support for each other in whatever way they can. So, some groups have been able to share shopping slots, collect prescription, meet together for coffee on zoom, deliver print outs of services to those in the group who don’t have access to the internet, and pray for each other. The main thing has to been to be there for each other when contact with people outside the house seemed impossible. If you, or you know someone who would want to join one of these groups then do let us know, you can send a private message to our Facebook page or contact us via the website, christchurchstannington.co.uk. Or give Tim or me a ring, our numbers are available on the website too. Now Joe has moved on we are going to use the midweek thought slot to hear from these groups and see what has been happening in them and how the groups have developed. And a little about what we have learnt through this time. So, not surprisingly we are starting with my group. The core of our network was made from a new house group. We were just getting to know each other. Being part of a network helped us to hold onto those connections. We knew the people who were needing to shield and understood their anxieties and were able to pray for them in an informed way. Initially there were some things that we could do for those who were shielding in the way of a little bit of shopping, though I don’t think we ever did source the brown bread flour. But people soon made adjustments. I think we felt the frustrations for those who were shielding especially when the warm weather brought hay fever complications. So, what have we been learning, we have been caring for each other, learning how to keep connected both spiritually and with each other? The online service videos have been a great source of connection with each other and it has been encouraging to hear how people are making use of personal time with God, using their own resources or looking at the suggestions on the website resources page. Currently some people are beginning to look outside the group making similar connections with others. Prayers for the energy to sustain this and the opportunities to share God’s love tangibly with those in need would be appreciated. And always, always, prayers for the safety of those who are key workers, especially those who work in hospitals and are in direct contact with Covid 19. As I said before, if you would like to know more about these groups do get in Contact with us. We have just published our latest magazine on the website, there is a link to it on the front page under latest news to keep things simple, so if it’s too rainy to go for a walk this afternoon, there are a lot of interesting articles in there to read and some great photos of the Stannington scarecrows to enjoy. If you would like to join us for worship, then our online service is released every Sunday from 8.30 in the morning. They are all available through our website, or on our YouTube account. Thanks for listening , I look forward to telling you more about some of the other networks next week.Take care everyone. God bless
