Letter from the Circuit Superintendent : COVID 19

Dear Church Street Members 19 March 2020 As you may be aware, our Church Executive has been prayerfully wrestling with many issues relating to the COVID-19 restrictions imposed (we believe wisely) by Government, as well as the very clear Directives which were communicated from our own Presiding Bishop. We have also been considering the many excellent resources available through Church, Government and Social Channels regarding the rapidly developing pandemic. The most important fact for us is the very clear scientific evidence that the best way for us to beat the spread of this pandemic is through social distancing. Social distancing protects the most vulnerable, slows the spread of the infection (see the excellent video at https://youtu.be/dSQztKXR6k0) and means that our healthcare system does not become overburdened and hence unable to treat infected people effectively. This has already led us as both a Circuit and a Local Church to cancel all church meetings and small group meetings. Doing this breaks off unnecessary opportunities for people who are uninfected to inadvertently come into contact with others who have been infected but do not yet know they are infected. This is the most dangerous element of the pandemic. It spreads before we know it is spreading. There is thorough evidence (from the way the pandemic has unfolded globally) to suggest that the major contribution individuals and bodies like churches can make is to distance ourselves socially and in some cases to self-isolate completely. As you know, to this end, schools have closed, and a number of our Retirement Homes have already instituted a no-visitors rule. With all of this in mind, and after much prayerful discussion and consideration of the options available to us to ensure that our meetings would happen as safely as possible, the Church Executive has today come to the very difficult decision to also cancel all Sunday Services until further notice. We are simply not well enough equipped to guarantee stringent enough measures to protect our members. But not only this. We feel that it is our God-given responsibility to be proactive to protect one another from unnecessary risk, as well as the more vulnerable members of society with whom we come into contact after leaving church. That begs a few questions: 1. How can our members still worship God with a sense of corporate engagement in Church Street Sunday worship, without attending a Church Service? a. If you have internet access the answer is (If you have a Facebook account but haven’t yet liked the Claremont Methodist Church Page it will make this process easier if you do so ahead of time.): At 08h45 on Sunday morning gather your family (or yourself alone) in a peaceful setting. Perhaps you could make the effort to make it feel like a sacred space through placing a cross

and/or candle on a table, having your Bible and a notebook at the ready, playing some quiet worship music in the background, etc. Then you open up your internet access (through mobile phone or laptop or desktop) and go to https://www.facebook.com/cmc.za . Stay on the Claremont Methodist Church Facebook Page and just before 9am it will tell you that “Claremont Methodist is now LIVE”. Click on the PLAY icon to play the livestream. God-willing, you will see my friendly face on your screen. We will hang out together for a few minutes without much happening to allow everyone else to get connected in the same way as you did and by about 09h10 I will begin the online ministry. The beauty of this option is that you can comment on the video afterwards in the COMMENT section, asking questions, sharing what stood out for you, or just plain letting us know if you had difficulty with any aspect of the connection.

1. if you have Internet Access but find this kind of medium too foreign after one or two tries, the link to the recording will also be sent to all our members over email later on Sundays and you can watch it from start to finish in the comfort and safety of your own space. LIVE is a far better spiritual experience though as one has a sense of connectedness with the others who are watching at the same time.

2. If you have email but no real (or fast enough) internet to watch videos then we will also email a link to the Sermon Blog which contains the Notes and the Audio later on the Sunday.

3. If you find email too cumbersome and prefer WhatsApp only, we are happy to send the video link to your WhatsApp account so that you can watch the video after the event on your phone. Just let us know.

4. If you have no Internet connectivity at all then you won’t be receiving this email. However, we will still try to stay connected pastorally with those members of our Church who do not have email or internet access through the answer to the following question.

5. How can we stay connected in fellowship with one another as the Church if we are not seeing each other?
   

   1. As Leadership we are currently in the process of identifying and appointing telephone carers whose duty it will be to make telephonic contact with our “shut-in” members and those who are not at all connected to the Church electronically. This will be at least a once-a-week call to check on how the person is doing and to share a word of encouragement and a moment of prayer with them.

   2. Home Groups will remain in contact through their normal communication channels (often WhatsApp Groups).

   3. We encourage you to embrace your ministry to your fellow CSMC Members by volunteering to be a telephone contact person to either speak to our “shut-ins” or to receive a list of 5-10 names and numbers of fellow CSMC members whom we then ask you to contact by phone, email or WhatsApp once a week to check in on them and to offer encouragement and a brief moment of prayer.

1. How will we share in communion – particularly if this season of social distancing lasts all the way to Easter? While sharing communion elements in a corporate space is incredibly risky for the spread of this virus, you are just as safe taking communion at home as you are eating your normal meals. So if

this lasts until Easter, we will share a “virtual communion” on Easter Sunday, with resources and teaching having been sent out via email or WhatsApp (as per your preference) before the time for use at home. You will prepare your own bread and “wine” at home and I will lead us in the consecration of the elements via the LIVE stream. What an exciting moment that will be.

1. How are we as a Church praying about this?
   

   1. Great Question! You are invited to sign up to a prayer and fasting chain herehttps://signup.com/login/entry/817029121282216024 andtotakeonedaybetweennowandEaster Saturday to fast and pray for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic.

   2. If you sign up, the Prayer Guidelines are available via the sign-up sheet.

   3. If you prefer not to fast and just want to pray, the same guidelines are available as an attachment to this email.

   4. Our prayer MUST continue fervently until the spread of this pandemic is broken! It is the greatest gift we Christians can give to our world at this moment in history!

1. If visitors arrive at the door, what will happen? They will discover a notice on the door advising them of how to participate in our LIVE stream along with the notice about how to protect yourself from infection.

2. How will we give our offerings to the Lord – after all the Church staff and Church expenses still have to be paid?
   

   1. if you are doing EFT’s please continue to do so.

   2. If you are not yet but can do EFT’s, please do so into the relevant account: The Methodist Church of South Africa Wynberg Society; First National Bank; Branch: 201109 Plumstead; Account number; 62095722700

   3. If you only work with cash, please create a Church Offering Bottle at home and put your cash offering into it each week, saving it up until such time as you can come to church again to give it to the Lord.

1. Where do we see God at work in all of this?
   

   1. I will spend a lot more time talking about this on Sunday during our first LIVE streaming Service of course. However, right now I want to encourage you to know and believe that God has promised (see Romans 8:28) to turn all things for the good of those who love Him AND that nothing can ever separate us from His love (Romans 8:35-39). This means that if we turn to God with love and trust, He will not only be closer to us than the air we breathe but that He will also be at work in our bodies, minds, emotions and spirits to bring about good ... even in the midst of a pandemic.

   2. My colleague Alan Storey from Central Methodist Mission has shared the following with his congregation (as their Circuit has also taken the decision to suspend all Sunday Services) and I think it is a very helpful perspective: “In Lenten language we are going to FAST from on-site worship services and meetings. Fasting is seldom easy or comfortable and I am aware that this particular fast will be challenging for us because of how deeply we hold onto our Lenten and Holy Week practice, which over the years has brought us much life. The gift of fasting is a sense of heightened awareness. Absence heightens our awareness and paradoxically becomes a form of presence. Therefore, my hope is that as we cancel services, we

will discover that Easter itself has not been cancelled. My hope is that we will live into a heightened awareness of the terror of crucifixion and the wonder of resurrection in the world and in our own lives. My hope is that as we cease to gather together that we will become increasingly aware of the excruciating pain of loneliness and the great gift of gathered community.” c. God is giving us the opportunity to connect more deeply with those who share our lives at home, with our family and friends through the telephone, Skype, Facetime and many other precious media. d. But most importantly, through what is for many a time of greater isolation, God is inviting us to draw closer and closer to God! So may the Lord be with us ‘til we meet again in person. If you have questions I have not addressed in this looong letter, please feel free to ask via email and I will answer as best I can. Please know that we as Leaders are seeking to adapt and adjust to the very best of our ability as this pandemic unfolds, with the best interests of every Church member at heart. Yours in Christ with great humility and trembling, Dave