As we anticipate Easter, this week is a special and holy one, but it’s not the week that any of us had planned for. Many of us are mourning the loss of precious family or faith traditions. Some are unexpectedly grieving loved ones or find ourselves in isolation longing for physical and emotional connection. Some of us are fearful, shaken as we find ourselves questioning long-held, foundational beliefs.
I want you to know that our hope is that Inclusive Gathering Birmingham would be a community where you can share your fear, your grief, your doubts and your questions … without judgement. Wherever you are, whatever you are feeling today, you are invited to connect.
During these strange days, our focus has been to try to create as many opportunities for connection as we can, using whatever online means we have at our disposal. We’re convinced this is a vital need. The past few weeks have shown us that we CAN connect deeply with God and with one another online, on the phone and at a distance. It’s different, but it can happen.
In addition to our Pray & Connect Group, regularTuesday Community Zoom Lunch, Wednesday Weekly Prayer Gathering, Sunday Online Worship and weekly Community groups, we have also decided to put on a number of special online events over Easter Weekend specifically.
On Friday (10th) at 7:30, Ali and Ellie will be hosting Pause: An evening of musical worship and reflection for Good Friday. You can watch this on Facebook Live (and join in with commenting) or on YouTube here.
On Saturday (11th) at 7:30, we are hosting a ‘Watch Party’ and will be screening Jesus Christ Superstar (the original awesome 1973 rock opera version, obviously!). All you need to do is click the link and you can watch the film and ‘chat’ with others as you do.
On Easter Sunday (12th), we’re hosting two gatherings: On Sunday morning at 10:30, Pete will be leading us in a prayerful interactive reading of the Easter story on Zoom. And then at 4pm, we’ll have an Easter version of our Online Worship Gathering on Facebook Live with Eunice sharing a special Easter reflection.
And finally, on the bank holiday Easter Monday (13th), Rosy is organising a Pub Quiz for us on Zoom at 7:30 for a bit of fun to help lift our spirits!
If you need help getting to grips with making the technology (particularly Zoom) work for you, please get in touch and we’ll do our best to set you up with someone who can help you. If you are struggling, lonely and could do with a chat or pray with someone from Inclusive Gathering Birmingham, please do get in touch at newchurchbirmingham@gmail.com.
