Emerging from Lockdown

In some ways, it feels like we’ve been doing the Hokey Cokey this last year in lockdown. It never felt like it was going to end. Yet, here we are, emerging from lockdown, meeting friends and family again, hosting dinners and hugging everyone and anyone.

It’s great to be moving ahead, but also good to take a moment to stop and be still before God, thinking about what He has taught us through this pandemic, asking Him to change us to be more like Christ through these experiences.

Brothers and sisters, what a comfort to know that amongst all the uncertainty and fear we’ve faced, the Lord our Rock has been sovereign over every detail. He has been working out all things for our good. Yes, all things including this pandemic. And when we don’t understand how, may it lead us to praise and adore Him! For His ways are higher than our ways.

So, a bit about what life emerging from covid looks like within Cornerstone church.

3 weeks ago, we experienced the loosening of restrictions and unsurprisingly we have jumped in with both feet, hands, and head.

The planning commenced.

We eagerly rearranged our Zoom homegroups to meet in gardens, which was a delight. We hadn’t been together in over a year so we made the most of the meet-in-6’s rule. On Sundays, we introduced post-service tea, coffee and fire-pit sausages in the car park around tables of 6. Then, on Sunday 23rd May, right after restrictions were further lifted, we went big.

We celebrated ‘The Gathering’. The Gathering is an outdoor service held in a giant field, filled with thanksgiving and prayer, live music, singing with no masks, preaching and communion. It was a joy to be together, singing aloud with one resounding voice alongside one another again. Despite the horizontal downpour and soggy socks, it was a day to remember as a church family.

But that wasn’t all…the gathering was followed by a week of well organised feasting together in each other’s homes and together giving thanks for all the faithfulness of our Lord throughout the year. We ended the week by having a big feast in our church building all together around tables of 6. This was definitely all the more sweet after a year of physically distant fellowship.

As well as these celebratory gatherings, our weekly ministries have re-opened. Horray! International Cafe has swung back into action on Tuesday evenings, as well as all of our youth/ kids clubs, Monday tots, our Thursday evening student group, Fight Club, Sisters Act, church football games and much more.

We know that after a year and a half of staying inside, it’s not easy to slip back into life as it was before lockdown. But, we want to encourage you to get back to church to rejoice in God’s goodness together as brothers and sisters.

You also might be reading this and are not from Cornerstone church, or maybe have never even been in a church. Well our arms are open to you and we’d love to welcome you to our services and activities.