So much has changed in the world we know in the last 10 days. We have gone from a normally functioning society to one where we are told to stay home indoors for the foreseeable future to reduce the spread of corona virus. Our country is slowly being locked down. Tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs. Share markets and investments have crashed. Streets and stations are eerily quiet. The footy has been cancelled for months. Supermarkets are calm again – although many shelves remain empty. There is a feeling of grimness and heaviness that we all feel. These are serious days.
The church is affected just like every other group. Our Sunday services will no longer be happening. Groups such as Playgroup, weekly Tuesday community lunches, Evening Fellowship, Drop-In, the Pastoral Care service have all been postponed until further notice. Funerals, if required, will be limited to ten people. Weddings to just five people. We are working with Maroondah Council to see if we can keep Helping Hand open with a new set of younger volunteers.
What all this illustrates is how fragile our society really is. So much of what we rely on day to day has been cancelled or taken away. So in times like this, where do we turn to for hope and reassurance? One passage that I’ve been reflecting on this week is Philippians 4:4-7, where Paul is encouraging the church community not to turn inward and not to lose hope. He reminds them that God is always near and that when we feel anxious or worried we are urged to pray and make our requests known to God. This helps lift the burdens we are carrying. Mysteriously, in exchange we will receive God’s deep and enduring peace in our hearts.
Click here for worship@home resources for 29 March 2020
For the next several weeks or months – however long these restrictions last – a weekly resource for worship at home will be prepared and emailed out/delivered on a Friday. News from the community will also be circulated. If you have a good news story to share, an encouragement or a need for prayer, please contact Peter Mallen or Peter Mitchell in the Croydon office and we will include these as part of our weekly church@home. Hopefully you will also receive a friendly phone call from a member of the congregation. You are of course encouraged to keep in touch with your friends and family by phone or Skype or Facebook Messenger or whatever technology you feel comfortable with.
This week for the Exploring faith group we trialled a video conferencing app called Zoom so we can meet together from the comfort and safety of our own homes. We will also be using this app for future Church Council meetings. We are exploring various options for how we might record the whole or parts of a worship service and upload to the website (https://croydon.unitingchurch.org.au/).
Through these days, remember that we are not alone because Jesus has promised to be with us always (Matt 28:20). We also have the support of each other. So stay strong and remember to be kind and loving towards others.
Rev Dr Peter Mallen
A few light-hearted insights from Facebook this week
From a UCA church noticeboard:
Dear God, Can we reboot 2020? It has a virus that is shutting everything down.
For the first time in history, we can save the human race by laying down in front of the TV and doing nothing. Let’s not screw this up!
Day 5 of social distancing: Struck up a conversation with a spider today. She seems nice. She’s a web designer …
I just asked a six year old if he understands why there is no school today. Serious as heck answer: because they are out of toilet paper.