While some of us have been able to attend Sunday services at St John’s Church, Cauldwell Hall Road and St Andrews, Britannia Road, Bixley Farm Church has not yet resumed meeting at Tower Hall. We will be making announcements on this very soon.
Meanwhile, if you would like to attend a Sunday services at the above venues, you will be very welcome.Prayers, sermons and readings are as before and while we miss congregational singing, we are able to listen to a singer, which along with the quiet inside of the church creates a contemplative space that many find helpful. Please see our website for details of how to request a seat or call 01473 270978.
We would remind you that, following the latest government guidelines, facemasks have to be worn during the service. These services are also being streamed live on YouTube. Links to these and other online meetings and resources can all be accessed via the MIE website.
We mentioned last month that two members of our church have been raising funds for Age UK’s COVID-19 Emergency Appeal. The amount raised, including Gift Aid, is now in excess of £5,000, which is a tremendous achievement. It’s not too late to listen to their music and contribute via this link: www.justgiving.com/deborah-and-nick.
This continues to be a very difficult time for many and may yet get worse as furlough ends and possible unemployment for many; coupled with the possibility of a second COVID-19 spike leading to a rise in infections and further deaths. All of this on top of environmental challenges, social unrest and political uncertainty. Many of our assumptions about what constitutes a normal life may need to be jettisoned, or at least questioned, even here in normally quiet Suffolk. Our continued readings through the Bible, now in the Book of Isaiah, shows that abandoning God and trusting in the powers around them did not serve the people at that time well as they were eventually overwhelmed by external events. It also shows God’s heart for justice and mercy, and we have plenty of opportunities to demonstrate these qualities now.
But we also read in Isaiah 54.10: “For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will never be broken”. We pray that we may all experience God’s love and peace at this time.
We will inform you in future editions of plans for the autumn. In the meantime, if you would like to find out more, and join us or an Alpha group, please contact us at: office@mie.org.uk / 01473 270978
www.mie.org.uk.