For our first 'Alternative' Service, we created a psalm for today (see below). After listening to Psalm 80, we thought about aspects of FMC that we valued from its past and present, things that we regret about our church, and our concerns for the church and society. Animated discussion took place (socially distanced, of course!), and the feedback was collated by Deacon Jane, who transformed the comments into a modern-day psalm.
With some things remarkably familiar and some things quite different we gathered today for the first service back in our church building since lockdown. With at least two chairs between each of us the service began. Hymns were played beautifully by David our organist, but no one sang. Andrew our Minister had to guess if people were smiling at him as we were all wearing face masks. And we offered a friendly wave to each other instead of shaking hands as a sign of the peace during a socially distanced communion.
On Sunday 6th September at 10.30am we will be holding our first Sunday service in our church since March. It will be a service of Holy Communion. We will be taking all appropriate measures to ensure the safety of all those attending, including wearing face coverings, using hand sanitiser, and maintaining social distancing. We rejoice in being able to gather once again, even if we are unable to sing hymns or share refreshments yet.
Pictures and reports will follow!
Lockdown with the Leggos
Most of us would say that we are blessed to live in such a wonderful place as Falmouth. Many of us have found a solace and comfort in nature this year and one of our members Nick, shares his experience and love of water with us.
Well Being
Our Lord made it, walked on it and uses it to explain things.
Many of us have been looking for ways to fill our time during lockdown and some of our church members have not only ‘kept on crafting’ but some have attempted new craft pursuits like quilling. It is no secret that our members are particularly skilled when it comes to sewing and knitting and if you have ever visited our Christmas Cracker you will have seen the amazing work of the Stitch Craft group.
Although things look quite different for us all right now and Cafe Worship is currently not taking place in our church building, we are aiming to bring a virtual service soon.
Worship is an area of our fellowship where we are being constantly challenged to develop new and exciting ways of leading, praising and sharing. Challenge and change are part of this service. We are challenged in our Witness Box where people share their experiences of being a Christian and maybe changed by what we encounter during the service.
One of the events we have missed this year was the Bluebell walk at Bonallack Barton Farm. I have taken a trip down memory lane to happier safer times a year ago in May 2019. We had a great show of bluebells as always and an abundance of people to share it with. This year 2019 we were pleased to share the proceeds with the Invictus trust a fantastic Cornish run charity for young people with mental health issues.