In this time of great change, uncertainty, and ongoing caution about the possible spread of the COVID-19 virus, Hodge Hill Church is alive and kicking, growing loving community, in the love of God, with all our neighbours, across Hodge Hill. Here we outline our current position on how we are ‘doing church’ – in its many different forms – in line with the latest government guidance and our own guiding principles for our life together.
Guiding principles
- ‘Going forward, not back’: we will learn from, and build on, our experience of ‘being church’ during this time – whatever is ahead will be different to ‘pre-COVID’ life
- Inclusivity: however we ‘do church’ in this next phase, we want no one to be excluded – whether through health vulnerabilities, lack of internet access, or any other reason – from a ‘core’ part of church life that others are able to enjoy; this includes doing everything we can to ensure that we all stay connected together as one church community
- Safety: we will prioritise everyone’s health and safety, including minimising the risk of infection, in everything we do
- Integrity: we will continue to ‘do church’ in ways that are authentic to our ‘DNA’ – the values and ‘ways of being’ that we have learnt and developed here
- Diversity: there will be no ‘one size fits all’ way of ‘being church’ that will work for everybody – we will need to continue offering diverse opportunities to be part of the life of our church community
- Capacity: we will need to be realistic about what, between us, we are able to offer, and what we don’t (at least at the moment) have the capacity to do
- Gift-led: ‘doing church’ is not something that some of us do for others to consume –we will strive to encourage and draw on the gifts of all church members to ‘make church happen’ together
- Communication: we will continue to communicate, as clearly, frequently and widely as possible, the latest information on what we are doing and why
Ongoing opportunities to engage and stay connected
- Weekly ‘worship at home’ packs (and ‘Trees of Life’ resources) for worship and prayer, reflection and discussion – delivered to your door, or shared electronically via email and/or social media
- Dial-in reflection line – to listen to congregation members reading the bible readings and a reflection for the week
- Pastoral phone network – weekly calls/texts from one of our pastoral care team, to see how you’re doing, and to offer a space to reflect and talk together
- WhatsApp prayer requests group – including resources for Morning and Evening Prayer each day
- Daily Prayer on Zoom – (9am for 9.15am start)
- Sunday morning ‘coffee and chat’ on Zoom (11am – 12 noon)
- Sunday afternoon Zoom gathering (1.30-2.30pm) for reflection/discussion on the week’s readings and reflections
- Junior Church gatherings on Zoom – fortnightly (usually on a Sunday afternoon)
New opportunities to connect with others
- Old Rectory – ‘retreat days’ (for individuals or households), using the prayer room and/or the garden and prayer hut
- ‘Garden gatherings’ – safely distanced gatherings of up to 6 people in someone’s garden, to connect, reflect, talk and (possibly!) eat together
- ‘Walk and talk’ and picnics – safely distanced walks and picnics, for up to 6 people, to connect, reflect, talk and (possibly!) eat together
- Neighbourhood pilgrimages / trails – occasional opportunities to walk, alone or with others, engaging with temporary ‘installations’ in locations around our area
- Other gatherings on Zoom (times TBC) for connection, reflection & discussion
Opening the church building
- The Mission & Ministry Oversight Group is currently working on a step-by-step process towards at least partial re-opening of the church building, for some limited use, shaped by the ‘guiding principles’ we have outlined above. This includes conducting a thorough risk assessment process, which needs to be fed back to the United Reformed Church synod office, as the body with legal oversight of building-related matters.
- If anyone has any particular ideas, suggestions or questions, in connection with how the church building might be re-opened, for what purpose, and on what timescale, please get in touch with any of the church’s ministers, church wardens or church secretaries.
The Mission & Ministry Oversight Group (MMOG) will review this position every month, and communicate any changes. We are always keen to hear any feedback, questions or suggestions you might have, to help us all to make the best decisions we can, and to help us all, as the community of Hodge Hill Church, to live our life together as fully and faithfully as possible.
Revd Al Barrett, on behalf of Hodge Hill Mission & Ministry Oversight Group (MMOG)
v2, 6th July 2020