Covid-19 Update

26/03/2020
Greetings everyone at SABC,
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Wow what a week we have all just experienced. I trust you are settling in to the four week lockdown period ok. This is obviously a completely new situation that none of us have ever been in before, but we will all get through it. I encourage each of us to obey all that the Government is asking of us, as complete self isolation will enable the process to have success. 
Remember we are ahead of the curve on this strategy, due to our Prime Ministers leadership and the Government taking early action to close the borders. Also I’d like to say how appreciative I am of the Governments financial package to assist all who are impacted by the situation. It will definitely help so please apply if you need to do so. 
Daniel 12:3 is a verse that fits well for our circumstances. ‘Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.’
‍This is a time for Christians to rise… to be creative… to help people…. to take some of our more flexible time and invest into others lives by phone txt and email. As fear abounds lets share the hope we have with others. Lets not waste the opportunity of this epidemic! 
As a leadership and staff our first priority now is to seek to connect everyone by phone calls, email or txt and social media. We have been in contact with Connect Leaders asking their help to organise things so that everyone is being contacted within the groups. This covers 130 people, but there are at least 114 not yet officially connected with a buddy. Those numbers come from our data base but there will be around 40 more whose emails and phone numbers we don’t have. 
So the process is this: 
If you are a Cell member and have been asked to communicate with 3-5 people, then please give them a ring and have a catch-up chat at least once a week. Isolation can easily shift into feeling isolated. This is our opportunity to deepen our relationships within the church, to be love with skin on, simply by talking with one another. One another ministry is spoken about all over the New Testament. It’s the outworking of what it means to be a Christian. I suggest you diary to call someone each day! Establishing a good routine is part of what will get us all through this time. 
Also if you would be willing to ring 3-5 people who are not yet connected within the church that would be greatly appreciated. You may know them, or you may not, but you will ….. within a very short time. Please reply to this email and Murdo will be in touch to link you. churchmanager@sabc.org.nz 
Similarly our Trust has a data base of people in our community that they would love to connect people in the church with. Again its just phoning 3-4 people in the community. All that is needed is a weekly phone call to ask how they are getting on, and to have a chat. Loneliness is one of the big issues that the lockdown will surface. Loving on people in this way will be amazing. You will quickly get to know the person you call. Please reply to this email to respond. Someone from the Trust will be back in touch with you. churchmanager@sabc.org.nz 
If you know of people who are part of us who are not getting this information, who you think would appreciate being connected, please pass this on and suggest they send their email address to churchmanager@sabc.org.nz 
Lastly I want to encourage you to connect at any level, with people you are naturally doing life with.
There are no rules…. you don’t need permission….be creative ie social media, chat groups etc. (Just
remember to stay at home)
Some of you may not be aware of the ways to connect we currently use. These are:
 Web site   sabc.org.nz
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/stalbansbaptist
‍Instagram https://www.instagram.com/stalbans.church/
‍YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpWVXLx__llntEclLVSuk6g
Today staying home and beginning a new routine is easy. Its day one. But a week or two weeks in, we are all going to be hanging out for the opportunity to talk with our buddies. I encourage you to get connected in many of the ways above. Each Sunday we will be sharing a message of hope on You Tube. Just click on the link above. Enjoy your 1st day of working from home/ lockdown.

Your Pastor John