News

Hi all, We have a number of people in church who are now testing Covid positive and others who are having to isolate due to contact. As a result we have taken the decision to move back on-line this week. This will allow us to limit contact and prevent further spread. It will also ease some of the pressure on rotas. As a result, tomorrow's services will be on Zoom and we are also asking the small groups to meet online this week. we plan to be back in person next week, however, we need to continue to assess the situation and will confirm nearer the time. There will be no young adults hospitality tomorrow for the same reason. We are sorry to be taking this step and also apologise for the short notice, but all things considered, we believe that this is the best way to proceed.

Re: business meeting tomorrow: Hi all, Steve and I met this morning to look at the feedback from the questionnaires and we thought it worth sharing some of the key points with you all so that we can make best use of the time available tomorrow. The Key points are: ·   There was a broad support for the overall strategy ·   There was strong support for the move to a move to a single service model ·    There was an almost equal split about when the service should be: 1/3 each for morning, afternoon and no preference One distinguishing feature was that those peferring a morning service on the whole expressed that this was preference, not necessity, while for some of those preferring and afternoon service it was a matter of necessity (i.e. they could not attend a morning service for a number of legitimate reasons)       When looking at priorities for a building to use, the factors prioritised clear point to De Lisle We will provide opportunity to discuss this in the meeting, but we as Elders recommend that we adopt a single service model, meeting on Sunday afternoon at either 3:00, 3:30 or 4:00 and that we run a morning Bible Study initially on Zoom but moving to in person (possibly in homes or at the Hut) as soon as possible. Once we start to meet in person, the meeting will be live-streamed and recorded and the full video will be made available to those who attend GCL (via a shared cloud folder) and an audio recording of the sermon only will be made publicly available. If those present at the meeting are happy to adopt this recommendation, there are a number of issues that we will need to address:      What will be provided for the children and young people? How will we ensure that there is sufficient capacity?     Hospitality How do we encourage informal hospitality? When do we offer hospitality on Sunday and to whom?     Socials and church lunches How will they be organised and by whom? Please note: 1.  The meeting will be held on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86092529004?pwd=RlBTWnovZzZ2WEtTSXFJZ1FXZTFpUT09   2.       Members who are voting will need to have access to 1 device each so that each member is able to vote. It is fine to watch together on 1 device, but each voting member will need a separate device for the actual poll.