Mount Royal United Church

Virtual Voices - 5th edition

Virtual Voices

The Video E-Newsletter

of Mount Royal United Church

for Friday June 5th 2020

Welcome to our fifth edition of the Mount Royal United Church Video E-Newsletter. You will find the video at the bottom of this message.

If you have any news items or information you think we should be including in an upcoming e-newsletter, please send your suggestion to newsletters@mountroyaluc.ca we will do our very best to put it on for you.

This video will be produced and sent out weekly on Friday morning with all the important things from our faith community. We plan to keep them short so you have time to drink a cup of tea or coffee while you watch.

We hope you have a very good day today.

Best Regards,

Newsletter Committee

Message from the Chair of Council - Susan Fowler

Hello Members of the Mount Royal Community of Faith:

Welcome to the 5th edition of Virtual Voices. In some ways my message today is one of the hardest I have had to write to you over the past three months.

Today's edition has important messages from Rev. Stuart and I, related to the decision taken by Council this past week on a recommendation from the Ad Hoc Committee considering re-entering the building. You will hear us discuss why we have made the decision, for the immediate future, to keep the building closed for all but exceptional circumstances. The Ad Hoc Committee has committed to meeting again and make a further recommendation to Council at its September meeting or at any time if a significant change in restrictions and concerns is expressed by government officials.

As I write this, I am aware that Premier Higgs, in consultation with Dr. Jennifer Russell and her Public Health team, are permitting churches to open effective June 5th, to groups of 50 and fewer. I want to assure you that we were anticipating that decision as we were discussing what to do for our church family. Knowing that some neighbouring churches will be opening their doors as permitted by the provincial government made the Mount Royal decision all the more challenging.

I will share the results of the 2 questions which we sent out two weeks ago and how they have been interpreted:

Question 1: If the church was to be open under the government required guidelines, how likely are you to physically attend a service at the church on a Sunday Morning?

0 to 3 means no 27.7%
4 to 6 means hesitant 20.0%
7 to 10 means yes 52.3%

Committee assessment, approximately half the respondents are not ready to start attending the physical Sanctuary for Sunday services.

Question 2: If the church was not open for the foreseeable future, how likely are you to continue to watching our recorded / live streamed service?

0 to 3 means no 7.7%
4 to 6 means maybe 9.2%
7 to 10 means yes 83.1%

Committee assessment, over 80% of the respondents are interested in continuing with the online services for Sunday services.

If there is one thing this pandemic has shown me is that the range of comfort levels for people being out in public is broad. We have taken the position that we must consider the greater good. Last week, on a Zoom meeting with more than 100 other Christian charity representatives, the Public Health specialist who was the key note speaker appealed to participants to consider what is best for the community and not simply ourselves as individuals or our own organizations.

While I support the decision of Council, I want to acknowledge that I know it will be disappointing to many of you. If you want to discuss that decision, please feel free to contact me at councilchair@mountroyaluc.ca or 506-855-7008.

The United Church continues to remind us that social distancing doesn't mean faith distancing and "church" continues.

In that vein, the other big news this week is that beginning June 7th, Sunday worship services will be live streamed from the church at 09:30. Of course it will be posted and you can watch it at any time after the service is underway. Rev. Stuart, with a very small number of people participating in or facilitating the delivery of the service will be in the sanctuary. I need to emphasize that the sanctuary is not open to the Community of Faith.

I want to thank Rev Stuart for prerecording his pieces over the past three months, the musicians who have been doing the same to ensure we had music each week and a huge round of applause to Bill Millett for the many hours he has been spending editing and producing the services. Bill and his tech team will still be ensuring the services are live streamed but he will be doing that on Sunday morning from the sound box at the back of the church.

The final item I want to draw your attention to is the first ever Virtual Talent Show for Mount Royal, scheduled for Saturday, June 13 at 7 PM. A number of members of your church family have recorded pieces that I am sure will bring a smile to your face. Should you wish to say thanks with a small donation, please send it to the church or make it online in one of the ways identified on the church website www.mountroyaluc.ca

As always, thank you for your ongoing financial and thoughtful messages of support.

Enjoy this week's edition of Virtual Voices and please remember to pass along any announcements of special activities to us at newsletters@mountroyaluc.ca

Please take very good care and stay safe.

Susan Fowler
506-855-7008
Council Chair
Mount Royal United Church

All proper hand and surface sanitation protocols were observed prior to and after the making of this video. :-)

If you have scrolled all the way down here to the bottom, we thought you would enjoy something uplifting.