Letter from Julie
20th April
Dear friends – it’s a beautiful day here in Saltaire, and I hope that you too are enjoying (safely) the Spring sunshine.
Firstly, I want to say a very big ‘thank you’ to everyone who has e-mailed, sent a card or other message or otherwise been in touch to offer condolences on my dad’s death, not to mention the many of you whom I know have been keeping me, my mum and the whole family in your prayers. It means a great deal to all of us. Dad’s funeral is taking place at Skipton Crematorium on Wednesday at 2.40pm, with just 5 immediate family mourners permitted. We hope (like other families with funerals in the current circumstances) to arrange a service of thanksgiving later in the year.
I will be returning properly to work on Thursday, when I plan to livestream Morning and Evening Prayer via the KCB Parish Facebook page at 9am and 4.30pm., and next Sunday I will again lead a service of Morning Prayer at 10am in the same way.
My thoughts are turning in this post-Easter period to other ways in which we can worship together and nourish ourselves spiritually. I’d like to investigate some alternatives to Facebook, particularly if that might make it easier for those to participate who don’t do Facebook! In order to decide where best to direct my efforts, I’d be grateful if you could let me know which (if any) of these you might be interested in:
- A service held by telephone, where you dial in to listen and participate (like a telephone conference call);
- Zoom is a video-conferencing tool being used by lots of people both inside and outside the church, for personal and professional purposes. It was how the CDFC ministers recorded their Easter message! Perhaps you’ve been encouraged to have a go at using Zoom for other reasons over the last few weeks? Would you be interested in a service via Zoom? It would even be possible to have a virtual post-service coffee together!
- The Bible Society provides ‘The Bible Course’ – a 6-week course to help people see how all the books of the Bible fit together as part of a single story, and equip them to read the Bible with greater confidence and understanding. This course is now being offered to churches in a streaming format, which a group of us could study together via Zoom. Would you be interested in participating?
Please let me know what you think about these ideas. And if you’ve got your own ideas for how we can continue to share together whilst remaining physically distanced, please let me know.
In the meantime, please keep safe and look after yourselves and others (safely) as best you can.
With my love, prayers and blessings
Julie