It is with great joy to remind you that this Sunday, our Bishop, +Michael Oulton is coming to Christ Church for a pastoral visit, to celebrate our morning Eucharists with us. After the sheer joy and dignity of our Remembrance Day services last Sunday, a visit from him will be a continuance of the joy we find in worshipping together.
Just a reminder, humming the hymns at this point, are the order of the day….you know what I mean!
We have had an update from the diocese, in relation to Covid procedures and compliance in Church. In our considering our active response to the recommendations and choices before us, myself and the wardens in consultation with the Parish Council have agreed to the following.
1. For our 8.00am Sunday service, Tuesday midday prayers and Wednesday 10.00am Worship Services, we are going to continue as we have been, operating under what the diocese is calling ‘Open’ Option. This means no proof of vaccination required to attend worship. These services are small congregations and operate well and safely under the guidelines we have been following for the past months.
2. For the Sunday 10.00am service, we are shifting to the diocesan ‘Restricted Option’.
This option requires proof of double vaccination for all who are attending over the age of 12 years. The implications of this are as follows: physical distancing and the associated capacity limits are no longer required and limits on the number of social events are also lifted. Masks remain mandatory, although the speaker, whether minister or readers can remove their mask to speak at a minimum distance of 4 metres from the next person. Singing is permitted with masks on. Morning tea can be served to a maximum to 25 people – although, we’ll wait until the New Year to offer a post worship coffee hour.
This being said, we will implement this new option and operation next Sunday November 28th, Advent Sunday.
We will need you to bring proof of your double vaccination which we will record on your arrival and will keep record of this until further notice. You will only need to do this once, and as you reengage over the next weeks we’ll mark you off on a dedicated parish role for this purpose.
If you are unable or uncomfortable about this, the other services can be your option. However, we believe this will help us progress and continue to grow in number as we have been doing now since we reopened in August.
I understand there may well need to be some individual pastoral listening as a result of this decision and I encourage you to be in touch with either myself or the wardens. Or for any other matter you’d wish to discuss. We are always here for you.
Dear friends, we commend and endorse this fine incentive focused on assisting the needs of people in our community. You can donate directly to ‘Christmas Sharing’ or through us via donation in a marked envelope through the parish office or in the offertory bowl. Last year we helped nearly 30 family’s through this wonderful scheme.
Blessings
Fr. Jeff
The Christmas Sharing Program depends entirely on Donation from the community. We do not get any funding from any other source.
Donate directly to the Christmas Sharing Program and a registered tax receipt will be sent to you for all amounts of $20 or more.
Cheques or money orders should be sent to:
The Christmas Sharing Program
P.O. Box 22056
199 Front Street, Suite 206A
Belleville, ON K8N5V7
Donations via credit card will be gratefully accepted through the Canadahelps.org website.
Make a Real Change in Someone’s Life
The purpose of the Christmas Sharing Program is to help families in need with the extra cost of food at Christmas time. Christmas Sharing is a registered charity wholly funded through the generosity of the community.
The Covid-19 pandemix presents new challenges to the Program. Much was learned during the 2020 season which will be applied to the current season.
In 1967 a group of caring individuals in Belleville raised the funds to send 350 under-privileged children by train to Expo ’67 in Montreal. More than half a century later the Christmas Sharing Program has evolved into its current form where close to 4,000 adults and children receive assistance with food costs over the holiday season.
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