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Coronovirus update #3: Pastoral Care Plan

Hello,

Thanks to so many who have been in touch since Sunday, to send encouragement about our first online services. It has also been wonderful to see church family caring for each other in many ways over the past week, and we encourage you to keep thinking creatively about how to do this. 

We are making plans for 3 levels of pastoral care: 

  1. How we care for those with specific needs,
  2. How all of us care for each other, and 
  3. How staff care for everyone. 

This email is primarily about the first aspect. 

How we care for those with specific needs

Thank you to those who have already offered to help others in need. Joy and David Brabham (jbrabham@bigpond.net.au / 0447 801 614) have agreed to coordinate this for our 9am congregation and Caleb Muggeridge (caleb.muggeridge@gmail.com / 0427 079 305) has agreed to do the same for 5pm. Their primary role will be receiving requests for help and offers of help, and connecting people.

Please get in touch with Joy and David or Caleb:

  • If you can provide emergency meals or if you need emergency meals. 
  • If you can grocery shop for someone who is unable to get to the supermarket, or if you need someone to grocery shop for you. 
  • If you can make a phone call to check in with someone and pray, or if you would like a phone call. 
  • If you have spare devices which we can offer those in need, if you are able to help connect devices to the internet and demonstrate how to use them, or if you need help getting or using a device in order to connect with church online. 

Note: in anticipation of our movements likely becoming more restricted in the coming weeks, we see the opportunity to provide technical help as a high priority. 

We have also decided to reactivate the St Peter’s prayer chain. If you would like to be part of this, please send your name and preferred phone number to Lynne Bigg (lbigg@bigpond.net.au / 0400 738 125). Being part of a prayer chain commits you to 4 actions: receiving a phone call, making a phone call, praying, and keeping the content confidential. Please contact Lynne with any prayer requests for the chain, whether or not you are a part of it. 

How all of us care for each other

In addition to caring for those with particular needs, we trust you will continue to look after each other and provide ways for others to connect with you. While a more formal system may be helpful in the future, we are thankful for an organic approach which already sees many calling, cooking, and checking in with each other. 

Please consider filming a short clip of you or your household for us to include in a supercut one Sunday. This might involve you simply saying hi, sharing a short encouragement or showing us how your household is coping with changed conditions. Please film in landscape mode and email to laura@stpetersnightcliff.org 🙂

How staff care for everyone

If you need help connecting with others in our church family, please reach out to myself or Joshua. It is our intention to contact every household in the church family in the near future, via a phone call from Josh or myself. We look forward to talking with you! 

That’s all for now. The website continues to be updated with the most recent information about services and additional ministries. 

Air-con and solar panel pledge

At St Peter’s we want to help everyone grow in Jesus Christ. One way we do this is by meeting to encourage one another centred on God’s Word. I am convinced that air-conditioning our main building will not only make our church services more pleasant, but improve our ability to hear and respond to God’s word.

Air-con is not mandatory for church. It is not a godliness issue. Nor will it convert anyone. Rather, it is a desired extra on top of our regular ministry costs. The solar panels are environmentally responsible and will generate income for the church.

I want to invite you to prayerfully consider what you currently give to support the ongoing ministry at St Peter’s. If this is your church, I hope you regularly contribute financially to our church. Each year Jo and I review what we give to various ministries.

After that is sorted, could you additionally support either air-conditioning, or solar panels, or both? This is over and above your ongoing commitment to regular ministry costs.

Our parish council has researched options for air-conditioning and solar panels for almost two years, engaging Ashburner Francis as an independent consultant. Parish Council supports the consultant’s recommended solution, which will cost $15,800 for air-conditioning and $26,000 for solar. The estimated income at current rebates for solar is about $5,000 each year.

Jo and I have personally pledged $1,000 for each, and individuals from parish council have collectively pledged over a quarter for each. You can either put this pledge form in the offertory bags or give it to me personally. I will collate the total and parish council will decide whether or not to go ahead based on the pledges received.

Thanks in advance,
Joshua

    Your Name

    Air-con

    Solar

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