Stevens Road United Baptist Church Family;
I have not had to write a COVID-19 update since the beginning of the Summer. During the months of July, August, September and October we have been able to gather in the gym for services and groups in relative safety with very few COVID cases in the Province. November has been different. We have seen cases rising and regulations tightening.
As of the afternoon of November 24th, Premier Steven MacNeil, on behalf of the Province, announced a number of restrictions being imposed across the HRM. The restrictions that impact us the most are lowering the number of people allowed to gather in places of worship to 5 and 5 visitors to your home. These restrictions are in place at least for the next two weeks.
This limit means all in person services and all in person Kids and Youth Ministry programs will move back to being digital only. A group representing the Pastors, Deacons, Trustees, Finance, and CE met on the evening of November 24th and we made the decision to plan on having the church building closed until January 3rd. This decision was made both for planning purposes over Advent, and because we anticipate an extension of these regulations.
During this time only the Pastors, the Trustees, the Sexton, and the Treasurer will have consistent access to the building to allow for insurance building checks, maintenance, accounting, recording of the services, and other work needed. If you need access to the building for some reason please check with one of the Trustees or one of the Pastors to arrange a time when you can come.
We are making plans for small Christmas Eve services if the regulations allow. We’ll let you know more once we know more.
Another update will come out in a few weeks but until then, let me remind you of the ways you can grow in your faith in Jesus and connect as a body:
Each week we are having a digital church service that includes children’s time, prayer, announcements, bible reading and preaching. An order of service is also being e-mailed out each week. You can catch the service at this link https://www.facebook.com/stevensroadbaptist/posts You do not need a Facebook account to watch it ‘live’ on Sunday
The same digital church service will be broadcast ‘live’ on YouTube at 10:15am and it will be able to be watched on demand after that. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2JHFcCjsMQQoCeGALWg6Jw/playlists?view_as=subscriber No account is needed to watch this video.
Following the YouTube and Facebook service premieres we will also be hosting a Zoom coffee and tea time for anyone interested in having a 30ish minute conversation and seeing each other’s smiling faces.
The Sunday sermon will be uploaded to our podcast by Sunday afternoon https://stevensroadbaptist.podbean.com/ no account needed to listen. You can also find this podcast using your favourite podcast app
On Sunday Morning at 10:15am you can come to the church parking lot and listen to our digital service via FM radio signal 88.5 FM. This service is the same service that will be broadcast on Facebook and YouTube.
Each week between Friday night and Saturday night an order of service e-mail is sent out to everyone on our mailing list. This e-mail has up to date announcements, prayer prompts and various links to click so you can listen to music, watch or listen to our Sunday service.
We are encouraging staying in contact with one another through phone calls, text messaging, e-mails, and even old fashion letters. We are also organizing a group of people who will call everyone in our directory to check in and see if they have any prayer requests or needs to be met.
Kids Night Out has a weekly YouTube Show called ‘KNO On The Go’ that can be accessed from our YouTube channel https://www.yocom/channel/UC2JHFcCjsMQQoCeGALWg6Jw/playlists?view_as=subscriber No account needed
Youth Group will also have a yet to be named weekly video on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2JHFcCjsMQQoCeGALWg6Jw/playlists?view_as=subscriber No account needed
And lastly, we understand that money may be a personal issue for you and your household in this time but we ask that you please consider giving on your normal schedule if possible. We accept e-transfers (etransfer@stevensroadbaptist.ca), we can set up automatic withdrawals, checks can be mailed, picked up or dropped off through the church’s mail slot handy the office door. We also want to say thank you for being faithful in your giving so far, it has been a blessing.
We knew the Advent and Christmas seasons were going to be different than normal this year. And we now have a greater understanding of just how different they are going to be. However, I take comfort in knowing the first Christmas was pretty strange if you really stop and think about it. Know that even while we are apart you are on our minds, and in our prayers.
Pastor Christopher
On behalf of Staff, Deacons, Trustees, Christian Education, and Finance