Front and Center
Church on the Verandah
Acts chapter 5 is mainly remembered for Ananias and Sapphira - the early church members who purported to sell a property but withheld some of the money. They died when Peter confronted them about their deception. However, vs 12 - 16 give an amazing picture of the church and how they gathered as a Christian community. What can we learn from this Spirit filled community that informs our lives today?
Christians were gathering on a Colonnade (I'm calling it a verandah) on the side of the temple. Inside the temple are regular worshippers, worshipping in a very orderly way. They are blissfully ignorant to the change that Jesus has just brought and were carrying on as if nothing happened. Yet outside there were maybe thousands of Christians milling around, the sick were being miraculously healed by Peter and the disciples. This was a messy, chaotic scene. But maybe the most unsettling element of this scene was that God has escaped the confines of His Temple and was working powerfully outside! Gradually people come to acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God and join the chaos outside.
This jolts us to ask the question, "where is God at work?" He may not be where we expect Him to be. I recently read Tim Costello's latest memoirs, in which he recounts stories from his time as the Pastor of a church in St Kilda. He found himself living in a community of street workers, drug users and the homeless. A messy, chaotic scene, yet God was at work. Despite his respectable upbringing, Costello was alert to God's work in that place and was able to participate in it. Let's be on the lookout for God and the work of His Holy Spirit.
Returning to Worship Gatherings
Worshipping with other people is a life giving part of our Christian practice, and as we've seen in Acts, Christians have been gathering together for 2000 years.
The rules governing all types of businesses and gatherings have changed continually for the last three months during the COVID-19 pandemic. While we cannot predict future changes, we are now allowed limited worship gatherings, provided strict controls are in place. These include regular cleaning, social distancing, recording of worshipper's details, and allowing 7m2 per person (not 4m2). Due to a huge effort by the Church Council and Staff, we are able to restart a worship service from this Sunday (21 June at 9.30am) for a maximum of 80 people. Note that half will be seated in the hall and connected via video link. There is also the opportunity to connect to the service from home via video-conference. Please do not expect to return 'back to normal' on Sundays - almost every element has been affected to accommodate the current rules. This includes 'booking a seat' in advance. Once we have a service running we can start to think about other worship and activities - but we need to work through this gradually. The points following attempt to summarise what you need to know for Sunday - but please also carefully read the information that is provided when you register.
1. Our health comes first. If you're sick, stay home. If you're over 70 or a vulnerable person, consider staying home. Practice social distancing and good hygiene while at church. You can attend via video link by clicking [here](https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZjM1MTA5NzEtY2ZlOC00YmMyLWJkNzItYzYwZWNiMDYwOTIz%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2257d5551d-09e4-4408-83e4-a95b5eed5c01%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22b931fbee-7ec3-4ae4-9907-65761155ffa4%22%2c%22IsBroadcastMeeting%22%3atrue%7d).
2. Be Prepared. Only 80 worshippers can be accommodated. You need to register for Sunday worship in advance, by clicking [here](https://emmanueluca.elvanto.com.au/form/650d5e50-a6e1-49b7-9501-c26d1aa7b8f5)registrations close at midnight Friday. Familiarise yourself with where you're sitting, which entry to use and where to park. You will receive an email once you've registered.
3. Give electronically. This reduces the risk for our volunteers. The banking details are available [here](https://emmanueluca.org.au/payments).
4. Help out where you can. Each section needs welcomers and cleaners every Sunday.
Recommencing Emmanuel Activities
We are so proud of the great ministry of our many church groups and activities, and how this ministry would be made easier with face-to-face meetings. With the easing of restrictions gradually underway, it is the right time to be planning how these meetings could occur. We need to keep in mind the safety of our group members and volunteers, the extra workload associated with cleaning meeting spaces, and the need to comply with a new set of rules.
The Church Council has met and discussed at length activities that could be restarted, and the additional controls required to meet Qld Health and Uniting Church Qld Synod requirements. Each activity will need a brief COVID plan approved by the Church Council. We are preparing templates to make this easier for our groups. To help guide group leaders through this information, and answer any questions you may have, we're holding a meeting at 7pm on Tuesday 23 June. This will be an electronic meeting held on Zoom. Please click [here](https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87622106741?pwd=RGxvczZRRGtDQS85aHYycU93TW9Edz09)to join the meeting.
Regards,
Nathan Robertson
Chair - Emmanuel UC Church Council
rest of newsletter can be found [here](https://mailchi.mp/eb78b34f2033/weekly-newsletter-1392916)