Board members spent time since our last meeting exploring different areas that would need to be sorted out before we could re-open our building. This will be ongoing, but our primary conclusion at this point is that we will not be re-opening the building any time soon—not until at least fall and possibly not until January 2021, depending on what the Regional Council of the United Church and the provincial health officials are saying then, and on our own capacity to create safe space for anyone using the building.

The good news is that the church goes on. We have discovered that we do not need the building to be church. Our worship on-line is working well. Attendance has been sustained, and perhaps has even grown a bit. The services inspire us and strengthen our faith. We are grateful for the work Karen and Daniel do to enable us to get together. People speak positively of the meditations Cheryl Macpherson provides each week, and find hope in the messages given by Suzanne Lawrence. The Thrift Shop volunteers continue to get together and to enjoy each other’s company. Coffee hours on Fridays and after church on Sunday provide opportunities to see each other’s faces and hear each other’s voices using Zoom technology. People continue to pray for each other. We miss our friends who are not able to be on computer connections and are grateful for the phoners who keep in touch with them and with many members of the congregation. The Pantry in front of the church continues to be supplied with food by those who have sufficient and used by those who need something.

Things will not ever go back to the way they were but the Spirit continues to move amongst us.

Please feel free to be in touch with Cheryl Caldwell, Chair of the Board, at (250) 388-4560 with any concerns or ideas for how to continue to be a thriving congregation in these times.

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