Swine Flu

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Permalink Reply by Wulf Forrester-Barker on June 28, 2009 at 6:13pm

Interesting question. I think if it gets to the point where large public gatherings, like football matches and rock concerts, are being shut down, it might be time to think about it but most churches are small scale compared to events like that (and don't bring such a mix of people from a wide geographic area).

Wulf

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Permalink Reply by David Bull on June 28, 2009 at 9:42pm

I thought this question would be a "can of worms" that's one of the reasons why I posted it. As you say Wulf there aren't many churches as big as the big football stadiums although there may be one or two Christian events that are going that way.
However what should a church of a dozen or 50 or 100 or like us about 300?
Should we wait until the government starts shutting things down or be socially minded and start earlier.
If our God is the great healer does that mean people are going to get better rather than catch things in our meetings so should we just keep going.

David Bull.

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Permalink Reply by Julia Chantrell on June 30, 2009 at 8:57am

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/8124781.stm

So we have over the summer to consider. New Wine should be OK - I wonder about Greenbelt?

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Permalink Reply by David Bull on July 2, 2009 at 9:29pm

Isn't it quite normal to worry about Greenbelt?

Or even catch something there.

David Bull.

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Permalink Reply by Wulf Forrester-Barker on June 30, 2009 at 2:31pm

I think it is far too early to stop all big gatherings and start painting red crosses on the doors of the afflicted.

However, it might not be a bad season for churches to consider how they connect apart from their main celebration meetings. Is there a good level of involvement in small groups? Are people in touch with each other outside of the main services? Do people use things like email and phone calls (or Facebook, Twitter, blogs and forums) to connect?

How long would your church survive and keep its witness going if there was a government edict restricting large gatherings?

Wulf

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Permalink Reply by Julia Chantrell on June 30, 2009 at 5:08pm

There do seem to be a lot of us on Facebook... and some of us seem to communicate largely by email and text.
But...

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Permalink Reply by Wulf Forrester-Barker on June 30, 2009 at 10:30pm

But what? I'm not suggesting that congregational meetings are dead (that would steal a cosy gig from many of us, for one thing!). However, do people have connections with each other that go beyond small talk on a Sunday morning when they happen to be at church at the same time?

Wulf

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Permalink Reply by Wulf Forrester-Barker on July 8, 2009 at 7:08am

Erm... no.

However, it might be a good time to think about what things can be done for those who are told to stay at home because of the danger of infecting others. For example, it is relatively simple to record sermons and make them available online. I'm not sure my new church in Oxford does this (I'll have to check) but my previous church in London had been doing it for two or three years. Not everyone has a suitable net connection, so there need to be other distribution mechanisms, and it isn't the same as gathering for worship but it might be an easy step forward and one that has benefits even if we don't face a season where many people are quarantined.

Wulf

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Permalink Reply by David Bull on July 12, 2009 at 9:48pm

Many years ago in the days of reel to reel tape recorders I knew a church that recorded the whole service every week for the benefit of those to ill or infirm to attend. Of course now we are all aware of copyright law we can't do that little labour of love.
I don't think they kept the tapes very long tape was too expensive. The tape just went round those stalwarts who couldn't make the services and a week or two later was reused.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Kendal on July 13, 2009 at 3:13pm

As a matter of interest, with the CCLI license, you are allowed to record and distirbute copies of your entire Sunday morning. We don't do this ourselves at the moment but I did phone CCLI up and it sounded like we could distibute a limited number. The number would relate to the particular licnes you have with CCLI. Just a thought!

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Permalink Reply by Quesh on July 13, 2009 at 2:03pm

If you're looking for the full guidance on this, the government has published guidance for managing pandemic flu in faith communities. It's actually a really sound guide, and seems to cover most potential issues. You can download it from the link below;

Guidance for Faith Communities

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Permalink Reply by Paul Childs on July 31, 2009 at 7:03pm

The Archbishop of Canterbury, last week, stopped the use of the chalice in communion so we only get bread now, and the priest and helpers administering the bread must be seen to clean their hands with alcohol gel.

Helpfully the vicar forgot to clean his hands, and then remembered, but not before giving me the bread (the first one up) - so if I get swine flu I know who to blame!

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