Dear Friends,

Greetings to you all. I trust that everyone of us is continuing to stay safe and keep well. I realise that the longer we are ‘locked down’ the harder it is for many of us. But we have to believe that it will be worth it in the end, and anyway, as we have seen, the alternative is too awful to contemplate, so please, hang in there…

…In the Govt guidance released last weekend concerning relaxing the present restrictions over the next couple of months, it is suggested that ‘places of worship’ might be able to re-open from early in July. While this is encouraging, we should not assume that it will happen automatically. And even if we were able to re-open the Free Church building by then we will still have to take very stringent precautions to ensure the safety of anyone who might attend…

…Talking to a number of you, I realise just how much you miss being able to meet together in the church and just how much you are looking forward to being able to meet together once again. While it is not my wish to delay the re-opening any longer than is absolutely necessary, nevertheless my plea to us all is to continue to be patient. The measures the Govt. have recently put in place might be described as ‘two steps forward, one step back’; the last thing we want is for it to become ‘one step forward, two steps back’. Until then, please continue to keep in touch with one another, by any means possible. I am happy to exchange /mails, talk on the telephone, meet you ‘over the garden gate’, or at the church itself…

…Not being able to be ‘church’ as we would usually means that we miss out on events that would otherwise have been part of our church calendar, and so this last weekend we have shared with the nation in the commemoration of the ending of hostilities in Europe as World War 2 drew to its close – hostilities in the Far East would continue for some months still – I know that many of us have particular memories of what it was like to live through the war years. Indeed, some have suggested that the present ‘lockdown’ is nothing compared with having to live through the blitz! In our private prayers we can continue to remember those who we knew, and who we loved, whose lives were lost during the conflict and continue to pray that their sacrifice, ultimately, will prove not to have been in vain…

…And then, this week is Christian Aid week. Ordinarily we would be heavily involved in this vital fund-raising effort, but that is not possible. But if you do want to give, the Christian Aid website will have details of how to do so…

…Anyway, for now, we continue as we are, patiently waiting. Thank you for your patience. This is how it has to be for now, but maybe the future is just that little bit closer…

Ian Tutton

Two steps forward, one step back