Page 14 - Oundle Life Issue 1

CHURCH GOES ONLINE
I imagine we all remember the announcement. On Monday 23rd March the Prime Minister announcing lockdown. For Churches it came in two stages. Our buildings were closed
for worship on the 18th and then entirely
from 24th March. For us at St Peter’s this felt particularly painful. St Peter’s Church building is open all day every day 365 days a year. World Wars and previous pandemics haven’t closed it. We suspect the blue doors have rarely been closed in centuries.
“Church is not a building – it’s people.”
That was something I’d been saying for years. Suddenly it was put to the test. ‘Church’ is
a community of people seeking together to follow Jesus. The earliest Church communities never had buildings. Many don’t today. So, the question facing us was: how can we continue to be a loving worshipping community outside and beyond our building?
Together with our friends at Oundle Baptist Church we went online. We have provided daily Midday Prayer jointly every weekday since March 18th (when Martin Hills the Baptist minister and some of us from St Peter’s we sat down together and live streamed on facebook bible readings and prayers from the Church buildings). St Peter’s ‘Sunday Morning Live’ service occurs on Facebook and YouTube.
Like the rest of the world we’ve got used to connecting with one another via Zoom. Zoom bible discussions.
Zoom coffee conversations.
‘Zoombar’ pub gatherings. And we’ve been singing in our homes. All ages – recording their voices and sending
in their offerings to be put together and added to Sunday’s service.
From the start it was also vital to look outward. As a Church we wanted to serve the wider Oundle community. We set up a phone number for anyone in need of help. We gathered volunteers ready to collect medicines and shopping and to run errands for the isolating. We divided the town into hubs to make sure
we kept in touch with one another as a Church family. Martha Barnes our Youth Minister has helped ensure that young people have stayed connected to one another and to Church. There have been some thriving online groups and gatherings. And as regulations have allowed, we have enjoyed some in-person meetings.
St Peter’s is a community not a building. These last months have demonstrated that. Communities of people do, however, need to
connect. And that’s best when we can do so in person. So,
we continue to explore what’s possible safely and properly which often inspires some
creativity. Christmas 2020 will certainly be different from
any Christmas we’ve ever known. But Christmas is not
cancelled. Far from it. It is the fantastic reminder that God came to live among us in our messy complicated world. He offers sure hope to those who are struggling. As a Church family we look to support one another and our wider community through difficult days.
Facebook: @oundlestpeters
Youtube: St Peter’s Church, Oundle
Website: www.oundlestpeters.org.uk
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