COVID

The closing verses of Acts 2 inspire us with a vision of what church could be. The description of the life of the early church is thrilling, and causes us to wonder - what if? What if we could be more like this? What would it have been like to be part of this vibrant church? It's natural to wonder - why can't we be more like this now? That's the Acts 2 Challenge. It's a challenge every generation needs to take up. It can't be worked out and the secret passed on. With each

Today, after more than 9 weeks in lockdown, we have begun to gently walk the road out as we enter phase 1 of the exit plan. One of the many differences to our lives for the foreseeable future is the advice to wear a face covering in public - on buses and in shops, and I presume that will extend to churches too. Over recent weeks I have seen different approaches to wearing face masks. Some people are wearing medical grade face coverings, others have their cloth or paper mask

On Friday morning, at the Assembly Trustees webinar, John Chalmers asked the question 'Can a virus renew the church?' It is a great question to ask, one which many have been reflecting upon since the corona virus crisis began. COVID-19 has a huge impact on individuals, society and the church. So can this virus bring about the the renewal of the church? COVID-19 has been a catalyst for change in the church The last 10 weeks have seen changes in the life of the church which i

Today the activity of the church looks very different from it did just one month ago. In the middle of a lockdown due to COVID-19 churches are no longer able to gather together for worship, prayer and activities. As a result we have had to rethink what we do, with alot of activity moving online. The change has been sudden, and has caused us to ask - what is church? There is a lot of good that has come from the changes, new opportunities have opened up. Despite it's challe

It's true of so many things, we never realise how much we need or value something until we loose it. Think of your health, car, job or even toilet roll. We can go even more basic -food, water, and air. All things which we need - things which we probably don't value as we should... that is until we loose them. We are living in very unsettling times. The pace in which 'normal life' is changing is frightening, as normal freedoms - things which we have taken for granted for