As a child my favourite books were the Narnia series; they turned a struggling reader into an avid devourer of books.
I was thinking today of how soporific this time is and was reminded of a scene from ‘The Magician’s Nephew’ when the children reach the Wood between the Worlds, it was a sleepy sort of place where it seemed as if nothing ever happened. Digory and Polly were in danger of sinking into the mystery of the wood and remaining trapped there in a sleepy daze.
That is how it might feel during the COVID-19 lock down as one day merges into another and one week follows much as the one before. Over the weeks since the end of March we have established our own routines and methods of living. Even the weather seems unreal, how often is the UK bathed in weeks on end of sunshine?
But the Government, business, schools etc are looking at how and when to move on from lock down safely. Real life must resume, even if it isn’t the same as the life we lived as recently ago as February.
At the moment we don’t have a clear statement from the Government about when and how churches can reopen but in preparation for that time the URC has published a document called “The new normal. A discussion paper for a pandemic recovery and resumption plan”. The document is 24 pages long, and if you have access to the internet it can be found at https://urc.org.uk/new-normal.html. As a leadership team we have begun to look at this and the various implications for the Emmaus Christian Centre and the life of our fellowship.
You can read the first part here which is encouraging us all to think, reflect, pray about where we are and where we might be heading and how we might get there. Important decisions for our fellowship will need to be made and we all need to be actively praying for guidance for the way forward. As you take time to read and pray please note down anything which comes to mind and then share it with a member of the leadership team; either via email, a phone call or even write to the church office. The big decisions about our future will be determined by the Church Meeting and to reach a Godly decision we all need to be involved.
My Bible reading this morning took me to 1Corinthians chapter 2:9-10: here Paul is writing about wisdom, spiritual wisdom which the wise of the world do not recognise.
However, as it is written:
‘What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived’
the things God has prepared for those who love him – these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.
And at the end of the Chapter Paul adds - "But we have the mind of Christ"
We may have thought we had an idea of the road map but suddenly the path we thought we were on has shifted and at the moment we can’t see the way ahead clearly. God is calling us to trust Him and rely on Him to show the way. Is that not the place every Christian should be each and every day? If this tragedy causes us to be more reliant on God then something good will come from it.
The Lord has plans for us, as individuals and as a fellowship. It is for each of us to ask Him to shine the light of Christ so that our steps keep in His will.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Shalom
Graham and Katy Hill, Local Church Leaders
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