Letter 30
My Dear Friends, Happy New Year to you all!
One of the many new realities of the times in which we live is the remote or on-line learning platform. Many of us are learning to work from home, and our children and grandchildren are already well-acquainted with lessons on-line. While face-to-face communication and education are probably more effective (and much preferred), the prevailing pandemic means that for us (as a church), we will have to continue our learning and meeting, as well as our (restricted) worshipping, at a distance from one another...and, probably, for some time to come.
Even when the new Coronavirus vaccines start to take effect and bring down rates of infection in the community, it is very likely that we will continue to exercise social distancing and make even more use of the on-line platforms like Zoom. Many of us have taken part in video conversations and quizzes with our estranged loved-ones. These have provided at least some consolation and much needed comfort through difficult times for much of the last year.
Some of our church members have already started to attend a regular Saturday morning Zoom Prayer Meeting (11am) and these meetings have encouraged and blessed their participants. This weekly meeting will continue and all those who are able and willing are invited to join us. If you need help in setting up an account on your computer please do not hesitate to contact me and I can arrange to help set you up. Everyone is welcome.
Even if you do not have access to a computer you can always set aside an hour on Saturday morning (from 11am) to pray with us. God hears prayer whether we are on-line or not! The continued success of our mission as a church is tied irrevocably to our life of prayer, both individual and corporate...and that has and never will change.
I am by no means an internet-savvy person but, as the saying goes, if I can do it, so can you! I am very grateful to Carol for promoting and managing the profile of Sion Baptist Church through our website and for hosting our prayer meeting.
While there is no doubt that we all long for the day when we can safely meet in-person there is no reason why we cannot do other church activities on-line too; and these could include church leaders (Deacons) or even church business meetings.
At this point I would like to announce that we will be starting a Zoom Bible Study later this month (exactly when I will let you know in due course). Through much of 2019 (an aeon ago!) our Wednesday evening Bible Study Group was studying the Parables of Jesus. We found these challenging, encouraging, bamboozling and enjoyable in equal measure. I propose revisiting these studies and completing the course we started in a weekly meeting. Please look out for or ask for details of this meeting. Brief notes can be made available to those who want them.
Last year may have been an annus horribilis. But one thing is for sure...we have learned a great deal - about ourselves and about the Lord who loves us...and the year ahead will present us with yet more opportunities ...to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord (2 Peter 3: 18).
I will continue to send regular letters (and weekly sermons) to the members and friends of Sion Baptist as well as producing on-line audio (and occasional video) messages. I do hope these have proved helpful to you, along with the notable contributions from the NWBA and others.
It just remains for me to wish you all a peaceful, meaningful and spiritual New Year. Stay safe.
GB Mark 01/01/21