OPENING OF TYNDALE BAPTIST CHURCH BUILDING? NOT YET
Dear All,
You would have heard from the announcement this week by the Government that
churches and places of worship will be open from the 4th July as
long as there are no more than 30 people and no singing or chanting. Myself and
the leadership team are trying to get our minds around a service with no
singing or praying (chanting). So this is to let you know Tyndale will not
be open yet except for the leadership to work out the practical
implications of the government guidelines such as social distancing.
Please rest assured that we will not be rushing to open up the church for
church services. Like yourselves safety is of our outmost concern and priority
and as you know our church is blessed with multi ethnicity that means that we
have a large number of BAME - those for whom this virus is fatal and so we as
leaders are very cautious about opening up. Please rest assured that whatever
happens the opening of Tyndale Baptist church won't be before August - when the
temperature is warmer and we are as a nation hopefully clearer about the
current developments in Leicester.
So what has the leadership been up to during the lock down ?
Leadership meetings :
At the start of the lockdown, the leadership treated this unprecedented
situation as a war situation and met every Tuesday & Friday to ensure that
all our members were covered in prayer & materials, economic support and
cover were provided where needed using Numbers 31:48-49 as our example. Our God
heard us and those of our members (5) who caught the COVID19 or tested positive
all recovered ! PTL
Daily Prayer Meetings on ZOOM ONLINE @630PM:
In the light our such unprecedented situation daily prayer meetings were set up
partly as a catch up and daily update but also as a Strategic Warfare Technique
(SWAT) to cover our town & nation but in particular our members who were
key workers & front line workers (some of whom were given no PPEs or
inadequate PPE ) as they go out to work daily.
WEEKLY FEEDING 60 HOMELESS ADULTS:
Every Monday each week , TYNDALE BAPTIST CHURCH & WYCLIFFE BAPTIST CHURCH
have the responsibility of feeding 60 homeless adults . Other churches in the
town take different days of the week to ensure that these homeless people get
fed every day of the week.
ECONOMIC PROVISION AND SUPPORT:
As one can imagine, the lockdown has had tremendous impact on people's mobility
and economic & financial sustenance. The leadership has been in touch with
families within our membership and within the community who have been
struggling and we have shopped, provided and given economic & financial
support where we can. By the way, what have you been doing with your Tithes
& offering in the Lockdown ? If the Holy Spirit has been convicting you
then please do not rob the LORD (Malachi 3:8-12). Please send in a cheque or
phone/text me for church account number 07960185437
EMOTIONAL AND MORAL SUPPORT:
Throughout the Lockdown the leadership has been shopping, ferrying people to
hospital appointments, ringing and checking on people of Tyndale and those who
are vulnerable in community to see that they are well looked and nobody is left
on their own. We are receiving food items from Tesco & ASDA and these are
being distributed to the poorest families within the community surrounding the
church. Some of whom do not have enough to make ends meet despite school
premiums and food vouchers.
PARISH NURSE MINISTRY AND CONNECTING WITH OUR COMMUNITY:
Jill, our Parish Nurse with the help of Maureen and her husband Geoff have been
particularly busy during this time. This is what Jill says in her write -
up........
Parish Nursing remains very busy. Support has been given to families who have
lost loved ones due to Covid 19 and those that are struggling to recover. It
has been a joy to pray with so many families who have requested spiritual
input. It is very apparent of the financial strain to many and as a church we
have been able to support those hardest hit through the links with the parish
nursing ministry. (Thank you we have no words to express our gratitude.) Just
some of the feedback received. It was amazing to welcome a new baby to one of
the Mums who I support and to share her joy and excitement of this new life
(very tempting not to have a cuddle.) It has been great to have support during
this so busy time Maureen has been undertaking shopping collecting medicines
and phoning those who need that communication. Heather has been on hand to help
support those who have struggled with their mental health during the lockdown
and for that I am very grateful. Supporting our own church members too has been
rewarding with so many words of encouragement. Thank you. Weekly involvement
with Readifood has proved invaluable with building up precious relationships
and indeed friendships within Whitley. It’s great to now be recognised! Our
church stands in a unique mission field and I am excited about God’s plan for
our work within this community. Parish nursing ministry is growing and I thank
God everyday for the privilege of being a Parish Nurse.
TALKING FINANCES. SO HOW ARE WE DOING FINANCIALLY ?
The simple truth is that the church needs your money for
the work and ministry of the Kingdom of God to go forward. If there's a
niggling worry at the back of your mind then could it be the Holy Spirit giving
you a gentle nudge to say you could do more for the church? Remember, as they
say - Every little helps !
As the Lockdown began the leadership were quite worried about the possible loss
of income because as you can imagine there are no offerings on Zoom ! or on You
Tube. But as our offerings are part of our worship, surely worship must feel
weird and unreal without offering. I for one feel as though my worship is
incomplete - something is missing. So what do you do about that feeling?
Answer: Write out a cheque and send it to the church treasurer - Mrs Marie
Nevers.
So how are we doing?
Last month there was a variance (the difference between what we budgeted to
give in offerings and the actual amount (received) of £1220. This meant that
our shortfall in offerings so far this year (Year to Date ) is a little over
three thousand pounds ( £3057).
On the Plus side, our savings in expenses so far this year (Year to Date ) is a
total of £2500. So all in all, PTL that the good LORD looks after His own but
that does not mean we should get sloppy in our giving. In times of great need
and distress, the people of God have always dug deep and responded. I have no
doubt you too will respond to the needs of God's Kingdom at this time. May the
Lord richly bless you as you consider how to respond. Whatever your decision,
be at peace with yourself and stay safe.
God bless you as you serve Him.
Regards & Greetings from Pastor Sam & the Leadership.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our dear brothers and sisters restrictions are slowly changing, but please Contact Pastor Sam or the leadership team before you use our premises for any activity as we move forward.
As a leadership team we have commenced planning for a
further loosing of the restriction in the near future. In particular, we have a
responsibility to ensure that the following are in place before were are able to
re-open the use for "gathered church” / communal worship.
- Regular
cleaning of shared spaces, seating and surfaces that will be touched.
- Restricting
numbers so that social distancing guidelines may be followed inside.
- Hand
cleansing, ideally with hot water and soap, at entry and exit points of the
building.
- The
use of hard rather than cloth-covered seating to enable quick and effective
cleaning.
- A
one-way system for worshippers through the building.
- Encouraging
worshippers to bring their own Bible or book of prayers etc.
- Ventilation
of the building space whilst it is in use.
- Recording
who has used the building to enable track and tracing should a worshipper later
contract COVID-19.
I know like us you eagerly await the day we can resume
meeting together in our Church Building. Until then, let’s continue to pray for
our families, our communities and our country.
I thank God for the various and often ingenious ways that we
have managed to meet to ensure that we have continued to be a loving community
and church family during this trying and difficult time.
Pastor Sam & The Tyndale Leadership
Team.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~