Email Week 12: 

“It is with great sadness that we inform you of the death of Beth Fleming, wife of David Fleming, Minister at Limbury Baptist Church, Luton. Beth died early evening on 3 June, having suffered from the Covid-19 virus from which she had never fully recovered and which resulted in significant organ failure.
David is due to conclude his ministry at Limbury at the end of the month to move to Rugby Baptist Church. Please pray for him, and for his family, especially James, Sarah, Callum and Andrew. And for the fellowship at Limbury. For Beth, we have confidence in the hope that she will rest in peace and rise in glory.”

Apologies – I am not sure I got it quite right last week. I think that I may have seemed to imply that short sermons & multi-voice presentations are the only way to respond in the current online situation. That was a little careless of me because I should have added that each minister/ church needs of course to find the way that works in their context. That may look very different to short and multi-voiced! I do think it is worth us being open to alternative approaches in these times, as we are all still learning,  but the last thing I would want is for this email to be perceived as ‘yet another voice’ from the sidelines shouting  saying “this is how you should do it’. To be doing anything is magnificent!

Other ramblings … Adrian & Bridget Plass have now stopped doing their daily podcast and I have to say I am missing their soothing banter. They sensed that we were entering a different phase of things and so are now just doing a weekly podcast entitled ‘sounding the shallows’. It reminded me that we are at a certain point in all of this. The ground seems to have shifted and feels far less certain and there is an unease in the air as we contemplate the ‘what next’. All the talk of when we open the buildings is fine, but ‘for what?’ What do we do? What does worship look like? I even noticed that Hillsongs were talking about not being back until next year in their larger venues. No doubt you have read some of the documents raising all the relevant questions and I appreciate it is hard to get your head around all that needs to considered. If you need some helpful questions to begin to explore the what next, here may be a good place to start: https://hope1513.com/community/what-will-our-church-look-like-after-lockdown/

Blessings one an all

Colin

Assembly & AGM is coming up later this month. A reminder to please return your church's AGM representative’s contact details to Stephen Copson asap. Directions for the Zoom AGM location will be sent in due course. Details where to join the opening part of the Assembly will also be forwarded soon.

Home Mission Giving
Thank you to all for your continued support of Home Mission. As we all look to how we manage our finances in these uncertain times and plan for the future the Association is no exception. Our treasurer is sending out a letter to all church treasurers asking for support in this forecasting process. Please look out for this letter, responses are required by 27th June 2020.
Thanks, Karen Hopkins (CBA treasurer)

RESOURCES:

• Someone recommended this edition of Desert Island Discs (from the people) https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000jpfd Desert Island Discs: Your Desert Island Discs

• A perspective on preaching in the current circumstances -see here http://www.unashamedworkman.org/general/shorter-online-preaching-what-isnt-being-factored-in/

• An article by Tony McGinley, Minister of Whitehouse Church, gives us an insight into how the church has responded to the challenges of COVID-19. https://hope1513.com/community/planning-for-lockdown-and-beyond/

• An article from the EA:  The media have it wrong. Churches are not rushing to open their doors https://tinyurl.com/yctd89xp

• George Floyd: our responses See here for a number of Baptist reflections upon the dreadful events we have been a witness to https://www.baptist.org.uk/Articles/579501/George_Floyd_our.aspx

• Baptist Insurance Company Guidance for churches during COVID-19. See her for their latest guidance https://www.baptist-insurance.co.uk/coronavirus/

• The Churches of Biggelswade wanted to gift something to the community as a way of encouragement at this time. Please accept this video as our gift to you and be assured of our prayers. The buildings may be shut but the Churches are very much alive, well, and operating.   https://www.facebook.com/BiggleswadeBaptistChurch/videos/606442866894201/?t=3

• CRUCIBLE course is experimenting with ‘Crucible Online’ : two evening sessions (7.30-9.15) on Wednesdays 24 June ‘Multi-Voiced Church’ (Alexandra Ellish/Stuart Murray Williams),  Wednesday 22 July: ‘Guests, not Hosts’ (Simon Mattholie/Sara Barron). Open to all as a taster of the CRUCIBLE Course. No need to register – just follow the links to join the sessions.
  Crucible Online 1 (Zoom 24 June): https://zoom.us/j/93033982610?pwd=dGxudk56WGhJY1lUSG9vekZJVzZldz09 Password: 844863
  Crucible Online 2 (Zoom 22 July): https://zoom.us/j/92826893045?pwd=UGxPWlU2RjQ0OGpoTEFrcnVEQ0VJQT09 Password: 143199
  See full email here  https://mailchi.mp/720fd0f87400/an-invitation-to-crucible-online?e=02c58ca3ba