July 2020
The church is a lifeboat, not a cruise ship. It’s not a place to indulge ourselves as we
float in luxury to our destination. The
church is a ship’s lifeboat – perhaps uncomfortable, but better than drowning –
and those of us who have been hauled into the boat should not be idle but
looking for others to pluck from the sea.
We should be working very hard to be welcoming to anyone at all who
might be looking for rescue. “And the
Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” is the description
of the constant flow through the open-door of the first New Testament church
(Acts 2:47).
It has therefore been frustrating that our church doors have
been closed for the past few months even though individual church members have
been doing all they can to look out for and to support others. I’m pleased to say that restrictions are
lifting and we are re-opening our buildings.
I wrote this on 20th June and the situation may
now have changed so do please look for updates on our website www.burtonandholmechurches.org
The church building is now open for Private Prayer each Wednesday, 11am-12noon. Anyone who would like to make use of the
quiet space for thinking or prayer is more than welcome to come in, whether for
the full hour or just for a few minutes.
Funerals
in church are now allowed (though still with restrictions on numbers etc). A Christian funeral service in church
followed by burial in the churchyard or elsewhere can be requested for anyone
with a connection to the village. I also
take Christian funeral services at Beetham Hall Crematorium, Dalton Woodland
Burial Ground and other places. Please
feel free to contact me directly to talk about funerals, or you can tell a
funeral director that you would like my involvement and they will check with me
before dates are fixed.
Sunday Services
in church may be allowed to begin again sometime in July. If you have discovered our online services in
recent weeks then you will be very welcome to come and take part in the real
thing. We will still be subject to
various restrictions but over time we hope that these will diminish.
And for those who will not be ready to join us yet we also expect
to continue some form of Online
Sunday Service that will be open to anyone who would like to ‘tune in’
via our website.
Finally, LegoBuilders
Online continues with new videos arriving every Monday on our website www.burtonandholmechurches.org under 'Children and Families'.
‘Lockdown’ has been very hard for some but what follows
could be even harder as ongoing restrictions and closed businesses continue to
impact many and to put some people and families under huge pressure. If I, or someone from one of our
congregations, might be able to help please do get in touch. It would be very good to talk to you and to
pray for you.
Sincerely
Graham Burrows