Our newsfeeds are saturated with the latest on the developing Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation.
Clive Parnell , our Teaching and Development Pastor, shares some thoughts that may help as we face into the coming days and weeks – and some specific practical steps that we’re asking our church family to take.
How do we respond in faith?
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1
It is important to remind ourselves that the developing situation is not a surprise to God. He is sovereign and He is in control of the seasons of life.
When we face ill-health, uncertainty – like the threat of the current pandemic – we can lose sight of this.
God is sovereign but he also gives us responsibility. The Father wants us to be aware of His rhythm and for us to move and operate to that.
Here are three areas we can consider as we look ahead.
Looking to God
I lift up my eyes to the mountains, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:1-2
It is good lift our eyes to Jesus. He is our ultimate helper. We can see Coronavirus as a mountain but God is greater, he is stronger and eternal.
Looking to each other
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:34-35
Jesus calls us to love and care for one another. This means praying for each other, caring for each other practically, encouraging each other and carrying out expert advice that can help one another’s health.
Looking out for neighbours
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’.
Luke 10:27
We have an amazing opportunity to demonstrate the goodness of the gospel. We can love our neighbours as they worry, question, and are in physical need.
May we show preference for others and demonstrate His love in action at a time of need. May we see God reviving our land.
How do we respond in practice?
Sunday services
We will have two services on Sunday 13 March at 9:30 and 11:30 as planned – then move to one service at 10:30 from 22 March. We will monitor the situation and update this article as and when this changes.
Practical steps
After careful consideration we’d like to ask the church family of KCC to take the following steps to safeguard those who are considered to be most at risk:
Help minimise the spread of germs during church gatherings
If you are coming to church, Please make sure you follow the guidance on good hand hygiene (which we all do anyway, right?). We may change the way some parts of church services or other activities to make it easier to follow these guidelines.
Stay home if you are unwell, or have returned from overseas in the last two weeks
We’d ask you to please stay home and don’t come to church gatherings. The guidance from the NHS and Government is to use this form of “social distancing” for two weeks. We’d ask you to follow this approach, however we’d love to know if you’re doing this – we want to pray for you and provide practical support where it’s possible (for example delivering essentials to your doorstep if needed).
The practical impact of all this is that some activities (kids church, café or toddlers) may pause for a few weeks if there’s not enough people available to help them run as usual. We will also change to have one service on Sundays from 22 March. Keep in touch with our social media channels and watch for email updates as things develop.
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Stay connected to your church family!
During the next few weeks, we don’t want people to feel alone, however and would recommend that we make use of technology to remain connected with one another.
- Check in with one another regularly – ask God who you should be in touch with and let’s encourage one another even if we can’t meet in person
- Why not make time to have a group call through Messenger or Whatsapp to spend time connecting with each other, sharing news and praying over the phone
- You’ll be able to listen to talks on this website and podcast feed
- We’ll look into making more parts of our services available on the recordings too
In all of this, let’s continue to spend time with God in His Word and in prayer – seeking God’s peace for our homes, neighbourhoods and our nation through this situation. Let’s also be looking out for each other and consider how the Lord would have us respond.
If you have thoughts on how we might approach this situation, please get in touch – we’d love to hear from you.
God bless,
Clive
