Dear Church,
First, a moment to say ‘Well Done’ - we’re out of lockdown, we survived!
And ‘Thank you’ - Westgate Vineyard has strengthened throughout this season as a community of hope, encouragement and connection. Each one of you has contributed to that in different ways and it brings us great joy to reflect on all the ways you have “been the church” to one another and to your neighbourhoods over the last (nearly) two years of COVID-19!
So, where to next? Let’s take the next tentative little step out! We’ll do it together!
Plans for the next step
This Sunday (31st of October) we will continue to meet for our Sunday service on Zoom.
On Sunday the 7th of November we will take our first step towards being together again by welcoming 40 fully vaccinated people to our in-person service.
There are two ways you can be part of Sunday morning church during this “first step”
Continuing to tune in on Zoom or,
Register online and attend the building in-person.
In person:
The current government regulations will require us all to wear face masks and, of course, practice social distancing. Also, we’re required to confirm the vaccination status of anyone attending Sunday services in-person, so we’ll do this by asking you to show your vaccination certificate when you sign in to the building.
On Zoom:
We will be doing our best during this time to ensure a sense of connection particularly for those participating from home via Zoom. We will have the camera set up close to the front so that the person speaking is easily seen, and when speaking from the front we will be mindful to address both the people in the room and people on zoom, we will hook up the church sound system to the Zoom broadcast for quality audio, and we will still utilise breakout rooms within the Zoom meeting so people joining in from home have a chance to connect, pray and catch up with others.
It’s a tricky time
We want to acknowledge that even while we’re excited to be taking steps towards everyone eventually being together again, there are complexities and compromises in the steps towards that goal, and until everyone is allowed to gather together, we remain a “wounded body”!
As we each return to church gatherings in-person, at different times, we may feel like we are limping a bit... but we are trusting that in time, as restrictions continue to lift, we will heal and grow as a body and begin to run again! The allowances and restrictions that have been made in the State Government's Roadmap affect each person in different ways, and while outlining the practical steps that we as a church are taking within that, we also just want to acknowledge these steps impact each person in particular ways. Please speak to us about how you are going as things are opening up more, and particularly how we can help you remain connected, or reconnect, with church family as things transition again.
Looking forward
We are really glad that as Christmas approaches we’ll be able to offer more opportunities to be meeting together in person, and we’re looking forward to sharing with you more about our Summer Communion Picnics that are going to form the basis of our gatherings in January.
Again, we’d love to hear how you are processing this time of change, and especially if these new regulations will keep you from joining us in-person, we are here to help and offer extra support where needed and however we can!
We have so much love in our hearts for you Westgate Vineyard Church, and we thank you for the grace, patience and love that you extend to us and each other!
Love,
From Aaron and Jules
(With the support of the Board & Eldership Teams)
