“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.” Psalm 22:1-2 (NIV)
Maybe these words have some resonance with you, as we look back over the past few months, perhaps you feel these words without COVID and lockdown. I hope that you'll be able to join us on Sunday, as we look at Psalm 22 together, and see how our God is not far from us, that he is the God who answers. Do please join us via Facebook, or at our 8:30 service (details below).).
Audio Recordings
By about 11:30 on Sunday, the audio from the 10:30 service should be available to listen to by calling 01707 927907. As well as the ‘dial-in’ service, audio recordings of all services are also available through SoundCloud.
Church Family Fellowship
After the Sunday service, we’ll have coffee together via Zoom (details on the website); if you’d like to be part of the meeting, please email me.
8:30am Service
From this week, and while restrictions allow, we will be restarting our 8:30am Sunday services of Holy Communion; these will be in St Thomas, Northaw. More details are available on our website.
Future Services
At this point, there is no clarity as to what we might be able to do in the future. The PCC have decided that 10:30 services won't restart until September at the earliest, but that will depend on what guidance and legislation is provided in the coming weeks and months.
National Church Service
Each week, the Church of England has produced a weekly online service. This Sunday, the service will be led by the Rev'd Dr Lee Gatiss. Lee has visited us virtually twice during lockdown, and I'm sure the service will be excellent. The service will be available from 9am, on the Church of England website.
Praying at Noon
I know some have already been doing this. Please can I encourage you, when possible, to stop at noon and spend a few minutes praying - we may be physically separate, but we can still pray together; we’ll email out possible areas for prayer each week. If you would like to make any suggestions, please email prayers@norcuff.com.
Reopening the church building
Both of our buildings are now open for prayer each week. At the moment, this is for two hours, as we explore what we can safely put on. We need to take into consideration the safety of visitors, helpers, and our cleaner. Please do visit the buildings for prayer and reflection, allowing everyone to spend some time in quiet.
- St Andrew's is open from 4pm to 6pm on Mondays.
- St Thomas' is open from 10am-12pm on Thursdays.
This is an initial step and I hope that we can increase this, as restrictions continue to lift.
How to join us live
The website has the information on how to join our live services and virtual coffee.