ONE MINUTE WITH PASTOR

Dear brothers and sisters,

The spread of the covid-19 virus has alarmed many. As Christians, we need to hold in creative tension our faith in God with our need to be prudent and considerate of others. The staff deliberated on the DORSCON orange situation and decided on the following measures for the time being:

• We will continue our essential worship services (Hebrews 10:25) with additional precautions taken. We will begin to shorten our services, and avoid contact in greeting, prayer in groups of three, and altar ministry. From this Sunday, only the main sanctuary door will be open for better temperature scanning and attendance-taking. In addition, after the service, refreshment will not be provided, and we encourage the congregation to disperse and have lunch fellowship outside. Holy Communion will be prepared with helpers wearing masks and gloves and served differently. The cleaners will do more thorough cleaning like wiping down chairs, cry room and GNK rooms, etc.), and the availability of hand sanitizers and masks are ensured. The media team is looking into good quality live streaming as well.
• The staff has also discussed the criteria for suspending services and it includes DORSCON RED, MOH quarantine, advisories from National Council of Churches of Singapore, and what other churches are doing. In addition to all these, we will continue to listen to God in group discernment and prayer.
• The cell group meetings (YAY and English Adult) will be temporarily suspended for February. Cell members will receive a guide for prayer instead.  It is good to pause and pray.  We will closely monitor the situation to determine month by month about the suspension of cell group meetings.
• Other programs open to church members or the community have also been cancelled or indefinitely postponed, for example, the Christian Education course – “Practical Guide to Prayer”, Good News Kids end of month outreach, and English Adult Cell Leaders’ Training have been cancelled or postponed. However, some controlled core meetings, like worship practices, some ministry training will still carry on with necessary precautions taken (temperature taking and attendances).
• The office will open from 10am and close at 4pm so that the church staff can avoid crowded trains during peak hours. The church staff, will meet only for strategic meetings, and will look into forming separate teams as safety and continuity measures.

May I remind everyone to be seriously responsible for themselves, their families and the people around them. This is Christian love. Keep your immune system strong. Rest well and do not worry but pray (Philippians 4: 6-7) and diligently maintain personal hygiene and keep updated on the advisories that come through www.gov.sg. Most of all, let us keep our eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. God will keep us safe and sound.  Let us remember that God is inviting us to pause and spend time with Him.

SP Kenny Chee

Kc/14022020