Return to Church – A letter from Pastor Luke

Return to church

Hi Church, I hope that The Lord is blessing you at this time. I am writing to you about the return of in-person services at New Life.

I’m going to try and get through all of this without using the words “unprecedented times” but we really are living in an extraordinary time in history. I thank the Lord for each of you and that He is sustaining us as a church. 

He has done great things during this time. Hard though it has been there has been fruit – and I’m believing for continued fruit in all of our lives.

We are now entering a new phase of lockdown and let me start with a bit of a disclaimer.

The government announced that from July 4th worship services can resume in England. Now that on the surface sounds wonderful, however under that catch-all statement are some caveats and lots of regulations concerning what we can and can’t do – but they don’t make quite so good headlines. 

So whilst we are allowed back together it is with restrictions and it will look and feel very different to what we are used to. With that in mind it’s helpful if we don’t really see this next stage as a full return at all but a moving into a new phase that will start to take us back there. This is not yet the promised land, but we are crossing the Jordan.

The virus is in retreat but it has not gone. And for the time being that means life and church are not yet out of restrictions. 

We are commanded in Peter to be subject to the laws of the land. When those laws become persecution then that’s different for we must obey God rather than man, but that is not what this is. It’s not just churches that are restricted – it’s every part of society.

We must stick to the rules – first for our safety and the safety of others, but secondly if we do not stick to the regulations we run the risk of getting closed down, even if nobody gets sick. This applies to any organisation that does not stick to the regulations in place.

So with that in mind – I am delighted to announce that we are now starting this next phase and returning to in-person services soon. This is a more complex process than it was going into lockdown – and we must navigate it carefully. 

This is going to sound like a lot of rules and regulations… but please bear with me.

As I mentioned previously I have 9 steps to our full return. I won’t share all of them as yet because I don’t want to over complicate these opening stages.

We also must be aware that in the event of a local or national lockdown then these stages would have to be reversed, so any dates given will have to be open to change. I will outline the first 3 steps here:

Step one – This Sunday (12th July) I will be hosting our online meeting from New Life Family centre with a small team of stewards and technical team members as a time of training and making sure we are able to open whilst complying with the Covid safe regulations.

Step two – the following week (19th) we will open to a limited number (51 maximum) that you will be asked to book in for.

Booking will be achieved through contacting Emilia. I will send her number around separately so that I’m not posting it online.

Please be aware, not everyone will be able to get booked in so please don’t be disappointed if it’s full when you book.

Each week booking will begin afresh. I will announce each week the time when booking is open.

If you are unable to book because it’s full, you will be booked into the following week, to ensure that you can get a spot. Can I please ask only book if you are 100% sure you can make it, otherwise you are taking a spot someone else could have had.

As more meetings are added over time and as lockdown eases I hope to remove the booking system but it needs to be in place for the short term to manage numbers and to comply with the track and trace regulations. 

We will run a few weeks like this at Billingham, to ensure that the system is working and once I am satisfied that it is, we will move in to Step three – and shall then open up Stockton in exactly the same fashion. Seaton will follow in due course.

With the restrictions in place there are a number of things we must stick to in this transitional period:

• Booking in and arriving on time. Please arrive 10 minutes before the meeting begins. Wait in your car until a steward lets you know it’s time to go in. If you arrive on foot please queue outside, following the social distancing markings. Anyone who comes will need to provide their name and contact number to aid with track and trace. Only people who have booked in with Emilia will be able to come to the meeting.
• On arrival please sanitise or wash your hands. Hand sanitiser will be available on entry.
• The chairs will be spaced into blocks – you book a block as a family. For example if you are a family of 4 you can book into a block of 4 or a 5 if no 4s are available. The blocks we will have are: 5s, 4s, 3s and 2s. Of course if you are by yourself, you would book a 2 and have an empty seat beside you. These blocks will be 2m apart from others which will limit numbers.
• When we arrive we are encouraged not to chat, but to take our seats and prepare our hearts before The Lord.
• We also are asked not to chat indoors as we leave, but to leave promptly out of the doors you will be pointed to, one row at a time.
• This will become increasingly vital when we move to multiple meetings as we will have to clean the hall each time.
• For the short term there will be no children’s work or Sunday school. Come as a family and sit together as a family. If you have to take a crying child out – there will be some limited seating in the foyer, but please keep social distancing in place. The meeting will be streamed to the TV in the foyer.
• In this initial period, until we are able to work it out effectively, please bring your own communion along in a lunch box. You can share as a family, we will take it together in unity – but for the moment it will not be provided from the front.
• No singing is allowed. I know – this one is harder to deal with. I’m sure this will change in time, but communal singing or even the lifting up of many voices is not allowed. If someone leads a song, only 1 person can lead it and they have to do it from behind a perspex screen. This is quite a restriction, but just because we cannot sing does not mean we cannot worship. As a song plays we can be in quiet contemplation and worship of our Lord. This will be a more reflective time than we are used to but we will still be worshipping the King of Kings. If you are watching from home – then you can sing and say amen as loud as you want.
• With that in mind – our ONLINE service will continue. We will still be LIVE every week – so if you are unable or not ready to come in person you do not have to miss out. I am very aware that the larger congregation will be those of you watching online and we want to make sure you don’t feel left behind.
• If you feel that you are not ready or you do not feel safe to come, there is no judgement on you at all. Continue to fellowship with us from home as we broadcast online. It’s ok – not everyone will fit yet anyway.

I am so excited to be with you all again soon. This transition will feel very strange, but it’s a step in the right direction. The day is coming when we will all be together as one – but until then, we continue on this journey and we trust The Lord for His leading each and every step. We may make our plans, but the Lord orders our steps.

God bless you all.

Pastor Luke