Corona Virus - an Important message from the Board of CiC International
Dear CiC,
Greetings in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour!
Many CiC Ministers have been in touch with the CiC Office about what should or should not be done as churches, ministries, networks and chaplaincies particularly with regard to meetings.
The Board of CiC met on Tuesday and discussed the matter, but as you will no doubt be aware the advice has been changing on an almost daily basis with ever tightening restrictions.
CiC's position is as follows:
CiC respects and upholds the independence of all its member churches, ministries, networks and chaplaincies. In this regard each member body is accountable for its own decisions and is fully autonomous in its decision-making processes.
However, the situation that CiC members are facing is unprecedented in living memory and as such the Board of CiC issues the following advice to all its members:
All members of CiC are strongly advised and requested to follow the guidelines that come from the World Health Organisation, the UK Government and the inter-denominational bodies of which CiC International is a member, these include the Free Churches Group, Churches Together in England, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland and the Evangelical Alliance.
All of these bodies, and Churches Together in England are taking an agreed lead here, are making it clear that churches should follow the requirements placed today on pubs, clubs, restaurants, theatres, cinemas, bingo halls, etc where people gather in close proximity. This advice is that we should not gather as groups but find alternative ways of meeting the pastoral, spiritual and practical needs of the communities we serve.
CiC encourages all its members to heed this advice - please do not gather your churches, ministries, networks or chaplaincies if at all possible. Please use online systems, such as google hangouts, zoom, Skype, WhatsApp video, amongst many other providers.
It is essential that we do not encourage people to meet in person, but rather to accept that we, whilst full of the Holy Spirit and faith in the protection of God, must also 'bear with the weaknesses of others'.
Galatians 5: 13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbour as yourself."
We must not put ourselves in the position of being carriers even if we are survivors. We must have a strong heart to protect the vulnerable in our communities and to recognise that we will need to find alternative ways to express the genuine love of God to our neighbours, as Paul continues in his letter to the Galatians: 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
It is this walking in the Spirit that will witness to our generation more than anything else. Our Spirit of self-control, not parading our liberty before others, but restricting ourselves for their sakes, just as our Lord God in Christ Jesus restricted Himself to walk amongst us, who otherwise would have died, had we even set eyes on Him, this Spirit is what will be the greatest testimony.
CiC also stands, not just for Churches in Communities, but for three key values: Compassion, Integrity and Co-operation. The Board of CiC asks that all CiC members use the grace that is on their lives to walk compassionately in this world of turmoil, to hold to integrity of Biblical grace and to co-operate with those in authority, paying due regard to their advice and regulations, as the Lord Jesus said 'pay Caesar what is Caesar's and God what is God's'. We firmly believe this is not just financial, but also wise as we pray for those in authority in our lands, who are faced with protecting the whole population and have to make decisions none of us like.
We must also be aware that many people in our communities will be facing huge uncertainties, job losses and all the consequent ills that follow such catastrophic changes to personal circumstances.
There is a National Day of Prayer on Sunday, and we encourage all members of CiC to be involved, especially to bring comfort to our lands as they grieve so much and to bring peace where so many are feeling panic.
I trust that you will receive this letter in the spirit of love and care in which it was written and please follow its injunctions to the best of your ability and in the faith, hope and love of God that enriches all our souls.
With my warmest greetings
Yours in the Lord Jesus
Trevor
Executive Vice-Chair of the Board of CiC and your brother in Christ