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Sunday services - Meeting in Person and Online
We are pleased to be able to meet together again on a Sunday. Hopefully by now you have heard of our plans to resume Sunday services with a smaller congregation.
Places at our services are strictly limited in number, in accordance with the current Scottish Government guidelines. We will be retaining some places for people not on the internet, or seeking to try church.
We will continue to stream the first service online at 9:30am for those who would prefer to watch from home.
Children
We are thrilled at the prospect of seeing the children of SBC again, and have been working hard to try and come up with the best way of doing this. At present, the creche will remain in the McCallum room on the middle floor of the church building, but all other children, age 3 up to primary 6, will be in the Family Life Centre. They will be split into 2 age groups, similar to how things normally run during the summer holidays and we will do a teaching session and have some fun and games! Face masks must be worn by all children over 5 in a place of worship, as per the government guidance. All efforts have been made to ensure the area and practices are Covid secure.
When bringing your children into the Family Life Centre we ask that you maintain physical distancing and wear a mask unless you are exempt.
Further Information
To keep everyone as safe as we can, the number is currently limited to 40 in the congregation, with hand sanitising stations and physical distancing in place. There will be stewards in place to guide people to and from the sanctuary, and a one-way system will be in place. Please also wear a face covering.
DO NOT attend if you or anyone in your household have any symptoms of Covid-19. These symptoms include:
- a high temperature
- a new, continuous cough
- a loss or change to your sense of taste or smell
Please bear in mind there will be no tea or coffee after the service, no congregational singing is permitted, and staying in the church building after the service is finished to chat will not be possible.
Be aware that the service will be filmed for livestreaming purposes. Although we will not be actively filming the congregation, you may be visible when seated or moving around the sanctuary. If you do not want to be filmed, talk to a steward about where to sit.
We look forward to meeting together on Sunday!
Dear Church
On Monday 16th March the Government announced radical new measures to slow the spread of the Coranavirus and prevent a massive peak in cases that would overwhelm the NHS. The new advice includes:
- Stop all non-essential social contact and stop going to places with a high concentration of people such as pubs or cinemas
- Avoid using public transport as much as possible
- Work from home if you can
- Anyone living in a household with somebody who has either a persistent cough or fever must now also isolate themselves for 14 days.
Unfortunately, this means there will be significant changes to how we interact as a fellowship and many of our activities, meetings and services will be affected.
In the light of the new Government advice we've made the decision to suspend Sunday worship and other meetings and events on church premises until further notice. We need to play our full part, along with the whole community, in reducing the rate of infection. At this moment, this is what it means to love our neighbours as ourselves.
This decision will be upsetting and difficult to accept for some people, so it is important to understand that this does not mean our church is closing. The three core activities of worship, community and mission will continue in different ways. It is an opportunity for extraordinary creativity, new possibilities and even outreach.
Worship
We will be running a worship service at SBC this Sunday at 9:45am. But instead of travelling in, we are asking the church to stay at home and join us for the service online – (details of how to access the service will be emailed out in due course). Recordings of Sunday worship will also continue to be available.
Our Children's and Youth teams (Bubbles, History Makers and Kinect) are preparing material for you to do together at home as a family, based on what they would usually be doing on a Sunday morning. Watch your email for further details.
Community
Keeping in touch and supporting one another will no longer be primarily through face-to- face contact, but we are going to use internet platforms and phone calls to allow us to keep connected. Virtual small groups are also going to play an important role in staying connected with each other as much as is possible. (Note: we will try and make special arrangements for those who don't as yet have access to technology).
Many of our church fellowship are already having to self-isolate. If that is you then please get in touch with us via the contact details below so that we can support and pray for you. We are looking at providing an extensive programme of pastoral care measures to all those who are especially vulnerable at this time.
We are also open to other ways that those within our fellowship can continue to support each other and build each other up without leaving the house so please keep an eye out for more information about this in your inbox and on SBC's Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Mission
Our mission at this time is to witness to Jesus by being a generous, caring presence in our wider communities, giving particular attention to people who are struggling or at risk of being forgotten.
If you are in a position to offer any assistance to the housebound during this time then please let us know. Some may be able to help by:
- doing shopping runs for others
- running errands, such as picking up prescriptions
- providing childcare for parents who are in the emergency services
and generally checking up on those in your community who may need a phone call.
This is an opportunity to use our networks to find the places where God is calling us to serve our neighbours.
Looking Ahead
This is a major crisis in our country and our world, but it is also an immense opportunity for the church to reflect on what it really means to be God's people, the community of his kingdom, and rise to the challenge of demonstrating his love and hope.
Please let us know if we can support you. We would also like to know of creative ideas or testimonies of God at work in this situation so we can be encouraged and encourage others.
Yours in Christ
The Pastors.
