Primarily, I want to encourage you to be fearless and not careless (a phrase I have borrowed from another) Fearless, in that we trust in the sovereign God of the universe. As we learnt from Esther, his unseen hand is at work achieving his purposes. Even in the Coronavirus. In the words of Psalm 46:1-2, ‘God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,’ Not careless, in that we exercise personal care for our wellbeing. Not care-less in that we don’t stop caring for others in these trying times. Times when the potential is for us to withdraw into ourselves and not sacrificially love one another and provide care for the vulnerable. Crises such as these are an opportunity for us to put the exhortation of Galatians 6:10 into practice, ‘Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.’

Today’s services will be the last public services until further notice. We will be guided by the decisions of others as to when we resume our services in the church building. This grieves me deeply but is a decision I understand and support. Already in a short space of time many hours have been spent thinking, discussing and preparing for the life of our church family in the foreseeable future. The quality of our fellowship and our love for one another provides us with a solid platform to respond to changes and prosper in the Lord. As those qualities are tested, we are confident that we will share the privilege and responsibility together to protect our fellowship and keep growing in the Lord. Let me outline in point form the new future:

– from this week a pastoral care plan will be activated. A group of parishioners have accepted the invitation to be in regular phone contact with a small group of parishioners. Every parishioner will be contacted to ensure personal wellbeing and practical care.

– from next Sunday, we are encouraged to participate in Sunday worship online at www.northernbeachesanglicans.org.au/online .

– resources will be provided so we continue to worship together. The sermon will be available through the wonders of technology.

– we encourage you as much as possible to regularly access the parish website and the parish Facebook page ‘Northern Beaches Anglicans’. It will be a source of information, online newsletter and ‘On our Knees’. If you need assistance to access, ask technologically minded family members, parishioners.

– hard copy newsletters will be available from the office or back of church and at your Sunday gatherings.

– your offertory is vital to the financial stability of our ministry. Please consider giving by direct deposit according to the bank details in the newsletter. If you are unable to do that please set aside your weekly offertory and we will let you know ways it can be collected.

– if you need to self-isolate for any reason let your pastoral carer know. Try and stay in touch by accessing our resources online which will include the sermon.

– we are all entering a new place and so I encourage your prayers and your patience. We are still fine tuning our plans. As always keep talking, provide feedback.

I conclude with reassuring and true words from Kevin De Young, ‘No virus can change the number of days that God has written in his book for us. No virus can make the word of God untrue. No virus can undo the work of Christ on the cross. No virus can change the fact that through Jesus we have a Father in heaven who cares for us. And no virus can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’

Your brother in Christ,

David