Dear Members and Friends of Emmanuel Church,

I write with a heavy heart that we as a nation, a country and the world have come to such a position. It is tragic to see what is happening as a result of Coronavirus, but we do not fret as those who have no hope, since we face this crisis with a faith that is anchored in the One Eternal God, who knows the end from the beginning and has promised that nothing can separate Him from those who love Him.

As most of you will know we have followed government advice and have suspended all of our regular meetings. We however do not want to suspend our ministries to friends and members alike. We do not know how long this suspension will last, so we want to make every effort to love, care for and support each other during these uncertain times.

As an initial response we are going to try to bring people together through technology by providing food and encouragement from the Bible at our regular times. This means that on Wednesday evening at 7.30 we plan to have a Bible Study via conferencing technology. This will then be followed up with points for prayer. On Sundays at 10.30am and 6.00pm we will be using our youtube channel to stream content. If you would like to benefit from this provision then please join us or get in touch for more information.

Although we have been told that we need to isolate ourselves we can thank God for the benefits of technology and social media. These give all of us the opportunity of serving and caring for one another. Please use the various media that we have to keep in touch with one another. For those who might be techno-phobics or committed dinosaurs you can use the phone. We do not need to be totally isolated. Make a point of trying to speak to someone each day, for their encouragement and your mutual good.

Also we need to remind ourselves of the privileges of our faith. Even though we are weak human beings, full of our own failures, yet we know that we can draw near to God. In Psalm 50:15 we are told “call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” It is likely that we will have a lot of extra time on our hands, so let’s use that in prayer. We can do that in private or how about some Skype or Face Time prayers together.

Finally I want to say that we care and we want to encourage you to get in touch if we can do anything to help you within the ever-changing guidelines.

Remember the special promises of God,
But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. (Isaiah 43:1-3)

For Jacob and Israel substitute – Christian believer or your own name if you have the peace of knowing that He has saved you. We are safe in Him, even though we pass through fore or water.

In Christian Love,

Bernard Lewis