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Yorkshire SynodSomerset HouseSt Paul’s StreetMorleyLeedsLS27 9EP
Synod Moderator Rev. Jamie KissackSynod Clerk Tim CrossleyTreasurer Rev Simon CopleyProperty Officer Jane Bunyan-MurrayTrust Secretary Alastair Forsyth
e-Mail: [email protected] Website: www.urcyorkshire.org.uk
Telephone: 0113 289 8490
The Briefing – Number 2110th September 2020
Dear Friends,I was hoping to be able to write that this week was another step towards a return to relative normality, but on waking up on Wednesday 9th to the news that a new series of restrictions are to come into force on Monday September 14th, I am having to reassess this week’s Briefing.As yet these new restrictions are unclear in relation to our collective work in reopening our buildings for worship, fellowship and to the wider community, but rest assured the Synod team will be doing their utmost to make sense of a very confused and confusing situation. Fortunately the basics can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coronavirus-covid-19-what-has-changed-9-september and it does appear that the current rules on worship have not changed. However the regulations surrounding activities within church premises seem to be covered by the new “Rule of Six” which looks itself to be the yardstick against which all new social interaction is to be measured.One thing that will not be stopped is Synod’s desire to help you to keep the work of the Church alive in your communities. We may still be encumbered by the legal complexities, but I pray that the new ways of being Church which you have all identified and have worked with continue and grow.I sense that the latest announcement will not be the last one and that more regulations and restrictions will be put into place in the coming days and weeks. As such, Synod and the denomination nationally will be keeping you all abreast with how it affects us in our churches. Therefore please keep a close eye on both the Synod https://urcyorkshire.org.uk/ and National websites https://urc.org.uk/coronavirus.html. In fact if you are in a position to pass that information on to your congregations and neighbours please do so in an effective way as possible.
Fortunately these new restriction shouldn’t have an effect on the forthcoming events being organised by Synod. This coming weekend sees the Yorkshire Synod Café on Saturday 12th September and on Sunday 13th the URC’s Children and Youth team are leading Intergenerational Worship for World Education Day. On September 23rd Mersey Synod is hosting Frontlines in the New Normal which is even more relevant after this week’s announcement. On the following Saturday, Synod is joining with the Leading Your Church into Growth team to present a LYCiG Taster Day on 26th September, which will be a time of prayer, discussion and practical tips on how to encourage your church to flourish amidst the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. This is followed on 3rd October by the Ministry Enquirers’ Day led by the team from Church House. Details of the above and other events can be found below in the mini-posters within this Briefing.And finally on October 10th the Autumn Synod will take place. Sadly we won’t be heading to St Andrew’s, Skipton to mark the 250th anniversary of the first Independent meeting in the town, but we will still be gathering online to meet in fellowship, to learn about the work of Synod and its partners, to do the business of Synod and most importantly to worship together. Again details will follow nearer the time, but I do urge churches to ensure that they are represented. If anyone does have trouble accessing Zoom please get in touch through the usual channels and we’ll try to help you out.
Rev. J Kissack, C/O Synod Office Mob 07436 119475 [email protected]. T Crossley, C/O Synod Office Mob 07936 362673 [email protected]
Church Links and Mission Activities
Welcome to The Yorkshire Synod Café.
This is a brand new event and will be a new experience for all. Everyone, of all ages and stages of faith associated with a URC Church is encouraged to attend to bring together diverse voices and ideas to find our common future together. We will all be led to share our thoughts on the questions opposite; everyone will be listened to, valued and appreciated for their story and their contributions. Please note that this is an online event. Register with the synod office at [email protected]
Ministry Enquirers’ Day is due to take place on Saturday 3rd October for anyone thinking about God’s call to Lay Preaching, Ministry of Word and Sacraments or Church Related Community Work. This leaflet is available to download from the Synod website at https://urcyorkshire.org.uk/notice-board/ministry-enquirers-day-3/. It runs from 10am – 1pm via Zoom and for full details please contact Farrah Falomi-Carrer at [email protected]
Synod’s Christian Comment is still part of the website https://urcyorkshire.org.uk/christian-comment/ even though we are having a bit of trouble with it. It is still the place where we are uploading articles exploring what it is to be a Christian. Please look out this page on the website to read this and the other contributions which are being regularly uploaded there.
For those with a more local taste I know that the Sheffield team have their services on their own website at http://sheffieldurc.org.uk/ and on the Yorkshire site you can find help in preparing and participating in Online Worship at https://urcyorkshire.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Top_Tips_for_worshipping-online-together.pdf.
Yorkshire Synod has a dedicated YouTube channel. YouTube is a great way of consolidating all the videos we release, from Leading Your Church into Growth (LYCIG), Children's and Youth, Mission and more! The link is here: https://bit.ly/urcyorkshireyoutube and have a look at what has already been uploaded such as our new Moderator’s reflections and comments. If you have a google account, you will receive emails when a new video is posted. In addition there is a great deal of information on the LYCIG page on the Synod website. Now is as good a time to have a look at https://urcyorkshire.org.uk/lycig/.
I have regularly highlighted the Wilderness project let by Megan and Jon. As a reminder please take time to look at and follow their Facebook site on which there is a growing store of resources for the younger end of our church community which you can find here https://www.facebook.com/wildernessyorkshireurc/ It’s worth mentioning this week that the Trialogue series of events is still on the go with the news that the Trialogue team are continuing until December. If you have not tuned into one of these discussions yet, why not join this week? Check out the Facebook site for more information
General Information and Resource Sharing
Just a quick note about this issue. Normally the Briefing would be in the Covid-19 section of the Synod website, but we are still having a few issues with the website. Please bear with us whilst we try and iron out these issues and I hope that normal service (whatever that may be) will resume soon.
Alastair Forsyth, our Trust Secretary has forwarded me a link to a paper from the Jubilee Centre entitled ‘Reimagining Church Buildings’. It is quite an interesting and it may well be food for thought whilst we look to return to our church buildings. www.jubilee-centre.org/cambridge-papers/reimagining-church-buildings
Rev Dr Jim Coleman, our Development Officer as members of the Training & Development Officers network have prepared a paper entitled Transitioning from Lockdown – Some Models. It is offered as a help to churches as they transition out of lockdown. It focuses upon worship during this transitional phase and gives different examples of actual practice. It isn’t about pastoral care or other aspects of church life, but may be of some use as congregations begin to deal with emerging issues. Normally I would point you in the direction of where we have uploaded it to our website, but as we are currently experiencing a few issues with it, if you want a copy let me know and I’ll forward it to you.
The Northerly Synods group are still looking for folk who have an interest in techy stuff to form a network or group of such like-minded people. The plan is that members of this group could work together to provide technical assistance in the Northerly Synods to allow Synod sponsored meetings to take place. An initial meeting on Zoom is to be organised in either w/c 14th or 21st September to share knowledge, to support one
another, to discuss what is involved in the forthcoming Synod sessions and to find out what skills are on offer in our neck of the woods. For more information or to volunteer please contact me at my usual e-mail address or Rita Griffiths who is the Mersey Synod Clerk at [email protected].
One area of Denominational life which has been affected badly by the Covid-19 situation is where we meet up in fellowship. Mission Council and General Assembly have both been transformed into online digital events and the latest to change is Youth Assembly, which will now not be meeting in January 2021, but hopes to meet again in January 2022 when they can start off the celebrations to mark the 50 th Anniversary of the United Reformed Church. Reuben Watt, the URC Youth Moderator has also filmed a video of himself making the announcement here https://we.tl/t-LkTRC0WFJD so please hold the denominational Youth team in your prayers as they find a way forward in the next year.
As I mentioned above, this week’s changes due to come into effect on 14th September are still to be analysed in detail. The Synod team’s advice is that you consult either the Synod or Denominational websites for the URC’s advice and to consult the Government’s own website rather than relying on media reports.Key Government websites are https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-the-safe-use-of-places-of-worship-during-the-pandemic-from-4-july/covid-19-guidance-for-the-safe-use-of-places-of-worship-during-the-pandemic-from-4-july and https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coronavirus-covid-19-what-has-changed-9-september. More information can be gleaned from the URC’s own site https://urc.org.uk/coronavirus.html and from that link other resources are easily accessible. These resources include the fresh series of pamphlets and booklets such as the key documents Ready for the new “normal” and Emerging into the “new normal”. As a reminder this is where the downloadable blank Covid-19 Risk Assessment in both PDF https://urc.org.uk/images/images/URC_Risk_Assessment_Template_Updated.pdf and editable Excel https://urc.org.uk/images/images/URC_Risk_Assessment_Template_Updated.pdf formats. Many other resources including all the recently published guides and display items can be found here https://urc.org.uk/information-guides.html and here https://urc.org.uk/coronavirus-resources.
Much of the information that Synod strongly advises that you read can be found on our own website here: https://urcyorkshire.org.uk/covid19/. In this link you will also find other vital files which will help you prepare for reopening including the latest YCU advice: https://urcyorkshire.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/YCU-Covid-19-Statement-External-Lettings8.7.20.pdf.
If there are any of you still struggling with the situation, grappling with the regulations or need advice the Synod team are here for you. We are here to serve you so please don’t hesitate to get in touch at any of the e-mails or numbers at the head or foot of this Briefing.
If you know of anything which you may find useful for our churches, please contact me at [email protected] and I’ll circulate it here and on the website. Similarly if you need any further help,
be it to do with IT, finance, property or the like we are here to help.National URC site: https://urc.org.uk/ Yorkshire Synod: https://urcyorkshire.org.uk/ Yorkshire Synod Twitter:
https://twitter.com/urcyorkshire Yorkshire Synod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/urcyorkshire Yorkshire Young People’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wildernessyorkshireurc/
Best wishes
Tim Crossley
Synod Clerk
