A PCC working group has been thinking about the best way to reopen the church building so we can start holding physical services of worship again – and at the same time integrating the services with Zoom for all those who won’t yet be able to come to physical church.
Our plan is to reopen on Sunday 20 September. By then we hope to be able to hold a single Sunday service at 10am which can be attended both physically and on Zoom, and where readings, prayers and sermons can be given in church or via Zoom. Our aim is to provide church in whatever way people are able to join in.
Please read this Back to Church Briefing, which gives more detail plus important guidelines on how we will be meeting together in a safe and responsible way.
The Upper Room starts serving meals again
The first takeaway meal served on the reopening of The Upper Room
When the coronavirus crisis escalated back in March, we continued providing meals for homeless people for as long as we could. We switched to serving takeaways outside, to safeguard our guests, volunteers and staff. But eventually we were instructed by the authorities to stop altogether.
Since then, we’ve been operating UR4Jobs, UR4Driving and UR4Counselling remotely, working with clients online. UR4Meals has been closed since March.
So we were really pleased when we were able to start serving meals again, on 23 July. We’re now providing takeaways on a timed slot basis, with guests receiving their food outside. Rigorous health and safety procedures and PPE measures are in place.
At the moment, we’re keeping things on a small scale – in the first eight days we served 62 meals – so we can test our systems, but we’re expecting numbers to rise as the word spreads that we are open again. We also plan to have a limited number of clients for the other projects attending on site.
The majority of homeless people have been housed in hotels during the crisis. This demonstrates that with resolve and money the problem of homelessness can be addressed. We are now consulting closely with the council to find out what will happen when these people are returned to the streets – not to mention those who will become homeless or vulnerably housed when they lose their jobs because of the virus.
There has been quite a lot of funding made available during the crisis, so we are in a decent financial position. However, fundraising is likely to become more challenging over the next few years, so any support will be very much appreciated. Testing times for everyone are doubtless ahead, and we are doing all we can to ensure we are well placed to tackle them.
Sending out the Young Franciscans
Wednesday night saw a special, socially distanced service at St Saviour’s – in fact it was our first service in the church since lockdown began in March – to commission the Young Franciscans, and mark the end of their residential community.
The community has been been together for the past two years, with six young men and women (three each year) living in the house behind the church under a simple Franciscan rule of life. They have followed daily prayer together, been involved in the life and worship of our church, supported the winter night shelter, offered hospitality, and engaged with the local community.
They have also received a weekly formation session in the spiritual life, and been on retreat three times a year, including a week in Assisi. Each of them has undertaken some paid work, which has enabled them to make a substantial contribution to their rent and living costs.
Rev Chris Lee, our vicar, spoke at the service and paid tribute to the six residential Franciscans. He said: ’All of them are on their way into some form of Christian ministry. Charlie is going to Ridley Hall for ordination training; Alex and Rachel have just got married and are missionaries in Northolt, living on an estate and doing prison ministry; Daniel is currently discerning a vocation to the religious life; Miriam is exploring a dual vocation as a GP and going into ordination training; and Lauren is ministering here to our children and families.’
The residential community was not the first group of Young Franciscans. There is also a ‘dispersed’ community, which is growing in numbers, with members in the UK, France, Northern Ireland, and the United States. Belonging to this wider community involves developing a personal rule of life and making a commitment to a pattern of prayer, shared once a week online, and a monthly gathering online for study and prayer.
The service on Wednesday included the commissioning of the dispersed Franciscans, which involved them accepting their rule of life, and concluded with a eucharist celebrated by Brother Sam SSF.
Rev Chris concluded by describing the Franciscan life as ‘a wonderful way to love and learn and grow together’. He said that while the residential community was taking a hiatus, the dispersed community would have a renewed focus. ‘It’s been amazing to see what God has done for us,’ he said, ‘and I’m excited to know what God will do as we look to the future.’
Junior Church summer packs
Junior Church is taking a break during August, but Lauren McKenna, our Children and Families Worker, has prepared some great resources for families to use over the month. Lauren writes:
Happy summer everyone!
I hope you have a lovely summer holiday from schools and nurseries. Over the summer it would be great if you can continue to read the Bible and learn about prayer. Please follow the links below to access the packs that were handed out at the picnic, if you weren’t able to be there. These packs provide opportunities to continue learning about the story of Moses, enable discussions about what is prayer, why we do it and who we pray to.
St Saviour’s summer pack
St Saviour’s summer pack (Early Years)
Lord’s Prayer colouring pages
The Junior Church pages on this website are also full of resources you can use to continue developing your child’s spiritual development. Please check out our children and families worship page for videos of spiritual songs and YouTube resources. And also see our children’s resources page for creative resources, including Diddy Disciples, for free ideas and learning opportunities.
Please can I ask for continued prayer for the children and family work at St Saviour’s, for God to continue to bless us with more families to find faith and attend services. Hopefully all being well we will see each other in person at church in September.
Photo: Aaron Burden
Amelia's Tuesday Testimony
Our Tuesday Testimony spot this coming Tuesday (26 May) will feature Amelia, who will be sharing her journey of following Jesus. Read on for a short preview of the evening by Amelia.
I’ve always been a big believer in the power of another person’s story. It’s been such a blessing to sit down on a Tuesday evening and listen to people I’ve known since I first moved to this church, as they share their life and the stories of their faith. There’s something so moving about seeing my brothers and sisters in Christ open up in a way that we don’t often do.
Having the opportunity to write out my own testimony has been an interesting journey, and I’ve been inspired by both James and Hannah, who gave their testimonies, to tell my story as honestly as I am able. Their honesty has allowed me to reflect on how intricate God’s plans really are. It’s been an important reminder that although life is decidedly rougher and the world is much scarier than it was, our God is working through all of this – even if I cannot always see Him doing so.
If you can, I would really encourage you to come along on a Tuesday. It really is a beautiful way to hear about the love of our Lord from those we meet with every week.
Join us at 8pm on Tuesday 26 May for Amelia’s testimony