Dear Friends,

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (Proverbs 19:21)

Best laid plans and all that… In August 2020 I wrote in Bosham Life of plans being progressed to enable us to return to worship in church at the end of August. I doubt that we could have thought then, that a year later, I would find myself doing the same again.  What a time it has been indeed! It is clear that we are not out of the woods yet with regard to this Coronavirus. Thus, as we emerge from the present lockdown, we must all move forward with caution and common sense. As I write, we are still digesting the information from the Church of England and our risk assessments in response to that advice.

However, what I can say, is that we will worship at 8:00 and 9:30am on Sunday mornings. The 9:30am service will also be live-streamed via a Zoom link. (The service will be recorded and so will be available online). We will no longer be pre-recording the services with a YouTube link, but please join us, using the Zoom Link. Services on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings will also resume. We also Gather on Zoom on Sunday evenings—you are very welcome to join us.

I am aware that a number of you,  concerned with the rising cases of Covid‑19, have decided to worship with us online, or will continue to do so. Suffice to say that the church is open, and our plan is that it will be open for private prayer during the week as well.

The wedding season is upon us. I am delighted that we have numerous baptisms booked in the diary as well. In all of this please continue to pray for the church and for the world, knowing that we can trust in God. In the words of the psalmist:

“We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.” (Psalm 33:20-22)

Be assured of my on-going prayers,

Martin