Letter from Minister, Naomi Oates
Updated 03/07/20
Dear friends,
It's good to be back in touch and sending you the news and updates for this week. Many thanks to all those who've asked about our holiday - we had a lovely couple of weeks of reading, exploring the area, and kayaking. And you'll be relieved to hear that Luke and I both managed to write our essays, after a great deal of cake!
So, some news and updates for this week:
Circuit service on Sunday - 10.30am
Sunday morning's circuit service will be led by the Revd Tony Graff - so I know you won't want to miss it! As always, all the details, including the link to click on Sunday morning, can be found here: https://www.nkmethodists.org.uk/news/invitation-to-worship-from-home.html
Don't forget that those without access to the Internet can also dial in and listen to Sunday's service by following these simple steps:
Step 1: Dial 020 3481 5237 (alternative number 020 3481 5240) - these numbers are charged at the standard national rate
Step 2: When requested, enter the meeting ID (7429588134) followed by #
You don't need a 'participant ID' - just press #
Coffee after the service
As usual, your friends from Larkfield would love to see you for virtual coffee after the service - just click on the link below:
Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85078200322
Meeting ID: 850 7820 0322
Looking to the future
As you know, earlier this week, the Government released its guidance for places of worship looking to reopen their doors for public worship. The Methodist Church has now also updated its guidance in response - you can find it here. I invite you to take a look, and continue thinking through what this might mean for our church.
Thank you to all those who have been in touch, individually or via your Pastoral Visitor, to let me know:
a) which practices you've found most helpful during lockdown and would like to continue in some form when we reenter our buildings;
b) your hopes and concerns for the future of our gathered worship;
c) if you'd be willing to be part of a small group working through the risk assessment in order to make recommendations to the Church Council as to whether, as a church, we're ready safely to reopen our doors.
If you haven't yet been in touch, I'd love to hear from you. The Circuit Leadership Team meets this evening, and I'll be in touch again over the coming week about the next steps.
Methodist Conference
Many of us have been tuning in this week to watch sessions of the annual Methodist Conference. Normally, hundreds of people would gather for a little over a week in a conference centre in order to make important decisions about the life and mission of the Methodist Church in Britain - of course, this year, they had to do things a little differently! Nevertheless, there were some fascinating conversations about evangelism, investment in fossil fuels, the impact of the pandemic (not least on the Church's financial resources) and much more.
On Saturday, a number of presbyters and deacons were received into Full Connexion with the Conference, to be ordained at a later date. The Conference also designated the Revd Sonia Hicks and Barbara Easton to be the President and Vice-President of the Conference in 2021/22.
You can rewatch sessions of the Conference until 1 August by clicking on this link: https://www.methodist.org.uk/about-us/the-methodist-conference/conference-2020/conference-live-stream/watch-again/
As always, if you would like to talk or pray together, please don't hesitate to be in touch - it's always good to hear from you.
Every blessing,
Naomi