The Church is Open! ...but the Building is Temporarily Closed
We’ve now passed the three-month mark since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a worldwide pandemic. Little did we know on March 11th, how profoundly this pandemic would affect our own lives, the life of our church, our community, our country and our world.
Over the past three months, we’ve had time to reflect on the things we’ve come to expect and rely on as well as the things that don’t seem quite as important to us anymore. We’ve been presented with many challenges but also with many opportunities…opportunities to get to know one another better, to help one another, to learn new skills and to reach out to other people that we have never met.
Like many other faith groups, St. Andrew’s has adapted to the “new normal” as we continue to carry on the mission of the Church to share the good news about Jesus and his love for us.
For example, we’ve now developed a greater on-line presence so that we can continue to worship God together virtually on Sunday mornings, or on Monday mornings at 10 AM by calling in to hear the recorded service. One of the advantages of having a virtual service is that anyone can access our worship services anywhere in the world, and the services can be shared with your family and friends wherever they live.
The Praise Team has also been working very hard even though they are physically apart, by using a computer program which allows them each to add their voices to a recording that when edited produces music which we can sing together during worship.
We’ve been reminded that the Church is not the building but is the living Body of Christ.
And the Apostle Paul, who himself endured much hardship encourages us with these words…
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
Please keep watching for important updates about St. Andrew’s activities on this website or on our St. Andrew's Facebook page. There is a link to the Facebook page on this website. You can reach Pastor Duncan or Pastor Monica at 416-438-4100, or via email (visit our 'Contact Us' page for details).
