During 2019 we started opening the church building up to
other users, notably the Uttoxeter Brass Band, who have been enthusiastic and supportive
guests, and this has continued in 2020 with Moo Music, led by Hannah Doyle;
Little Hands, led by Joan Kennedy and the U3A Ukulele Group.
It was good, in the first few months of the year, to welcome
these groups into our community at the Dove.
This was all severely curtailed by the ongoing situation with the
Coronavirus. We hope that things will
return to a kind or normality again before too long.
The first lockdown came just before Easter and took us into
uncharted territory. We had to close the
church building, so the priorities became to keep a sense of the church
community together and to maintain the rhythm of regular worship.
Like many other small churches, we found ourselves
catapulted into the world of YouTube, Zoom and social media. It was a steep learning-curve, especially at
first, and, nine months on, we’re still trying to do it better. I’m sure that this technology is something we
will want to maintain and develop into the future.
We pondered the possibility of ‘live-streaming’ services on
Facebook—but since most of our worshipping community don’t use social media, it
was a non-starter. Also, our interactive
and rather intimate style of meeting doesn’t lend itself to a live stream, so some
editing will always be required. There
will therefore always be a gap between the service taking place and it
appearing on line.
I’m still very conscious that we haven’t seen a number of brothers
and sisters for a long time. How good it
will be to meet up and share food again!
I want to say thanks especially to Colin, to Nigel and
Sharon and to Julie for their continuing support and encouragement, and also to
Paul and Lucy, to Elsa and to Rob for their contributions to morning worship
and ministry (am I forgetting anyone—I hope not!). We’ve also had Sunday morning messages from
Peter Brassington, Simon Walsh, Sam Dailly, and from Wayne Gough and John Davey.
So, in some ways, the end of 2020 finds us in pretty good
shape. We are hungry to worship God and
to serve him more effectively in this community. I think that the crisis of 2020 has, if
anything, galvanised us. We have been
challenged to find new expressions of worship, and we have sought him
afresh. It has also shaken off some of
our old and established ways of thinking.
We have been changed.
But there is much work to do.
The Lord has graciously reiterated the ‘founding’ vision of
this church, to take the Good News of Jesus to the Dove Valley. He did this through Peter in January, and
then again through Lucy in August. We
must act on this word.
However, one of the things that this year has forced upon us
is the idea that any plans we come up with have to be flexible. We hold them lightly.
O Lord, I know the way of man is not in
himself;
It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.
Jeremiah 10: 23
But we must have a plan. We should be deliberate in our
discipleship. I expect that whatever
this plan turns out to be in the coming year, it will include:
·
Active links with other local
churches—especially those also serving the Dove Valley—including
·
Collaboration in evangelistic and discipleship activities,
and
·
A much more pro-active social media presence
(championed by someone other than me!)
When the lockdown knocked us sideways, we were in the
process of ratifying a re-worked Statement of Faith, with a view to rewriting
the Church Constitution. We didn’t quite
finish that conversation, but I think most people were happy with the new
wording.
The Constitution itself, however, is a matter of some
urgency since we are presently in an unconstitutional position. This will be quite a big job, and one that
will require some deliberation.
Launching into 2021, then, we can know with certainty that
God is with us and that he is directing us.
We have a purpose—a mission.
I look forward to living this out with you and with all whom
the Lord sends to us.
I wish you a happy new year and every blessing in Christ Jesus,
Stephen Dailly
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