News

We are pleased to announce that we will be starting up Sunday church services again. We feel that now restrictions have eased it seems appropriate to try to meet again in person, doing so in a way that keeps people safe.

Here is what we have planned…

Services to Re-start from 9th May

We will be returning with a short service on Sundays from Sunday 9th May 2021, at our usual time of 10:30am. This will be about 30-40min long.

We will will need to continue to adhere to Baptist Union and Government guidelines as we did in the autumn. This currently includes:

1. Sit only with those from your own household, maintaining 2m social distancing from other households.

2. Face masks MUST be worn when inside the building at all times, unless you are under 11 years of age or you are unable to do so because of a physical or mental illness or impairment, or disability.

3. Follow the one way system that will be in place. You will be directed to enter the building via the fire exit to the right of the building and leave through the main entrance.

4. Leave the building promptly at the end of the service. However, it is permitted to gather in smaller groups of 6 outdoors after the service, providing you maintain social distance.

5. Be willing for us to hold details of your attendance for the Government’s Track & Trace system.

6. Generally follow advice, signs and instructions from those leading/supervising so that together we ensure a safe experience for all. 

We will no longer be live-streaming on YouTube

We will no longer be able to broadcast the service on YouTube. For those not yet able to attend in person we would instead direct people to other content online or join us on a Thursday on zoom.

Children & Young Church

We encourage children that wish to, to attend but must do so with their own household and stay with their household throughout the service. It will be the parents/guardians responsibility to manage this. We do appreciate this is quite hard and anticipate that those with younger children may not be quite ready to return yet for this reason.

However, the service will only be short, and we will try to keep content all-age appropriate.

Thursdays on Zoom will Continue

The Thursday meet-up on zoom will continue at 7:30pm and will continue for the foreseeable future.

See http://wvbc.org.uk/together for details.

Church will be different to our ‘normal’ experience , as there will continue to be many constraints on how and what we are able to do.  For example, currently it is not possible to sing together in church.  

Things will change in the coming months so any plans we may make now will always be subject to change based on the latest guidance and current situation. 

We ask for your continued prayers as we journey together in the coming months, and look forward to seeing you soon whether that be online or in person.

We wish you every blessing in Christ

This weekend is the NBA Assembly and there is an opportunity to join with us and share in worship online from Stockton Baptist.

This will include a special communion service. Grab some bread and drink to share in this event.

Details are on Stockton Baptist web site or join via their YouTube channel.

You can join from 10am and the service starts at 10:30am.

As we approach Christmas and the end of what has been a very difficult year, we wanted first and foremost to wish you every blessing for this holiday time. While Christmas is going to be very different for most of us this year we hope that you may find peace and joy, however you celebrate the birth of our Saviour.

Latest Update

Given the continued Tier 3 restrictions in our area, the increasingly serious situation nationally this week and the potential impact of Christmas gatherings, we have not felt it wise to return to meeting in person at church just yet.  We continue to monitor the situation and hope that in the coming months this may be able to change.

Meeting Online

We have continued to connect online through the Sunday online service and after-church meet-up on Zoom. As well as weekly on Thursday evenings on Zoom for bible study and prayer. 

Many of us have had to adapt and find new ways in these difficult times, and we encourage you to try and access these if you can. 

Christmas Online

During Christmas week we also invite you to join us online for:

Online Family Games and Quiz
Wednesday 23rd December, 6:30pm on Zoom (meeting ID 834 1888 2778)

Christmas Day Online Service
11am on Zoom (meeting ID 834 1888 2778)

Next up..

We are taking a break after Christmas, so the next online service after Christmas will be on 10th January and the next Thursday Zoom will be 14th January.

Previous services are available on YouTube.

We are making plans to re-open

As the government has begun to relax some of the lockdown measures and provided new guidance, we wanted to let you know what our current plans are for re-opening the church for gathered worship.

In the first instance, we are proposing to reintroduce  some form of a Sunday morning worship service from 13th September. 

This will most likely be very different to what we might regard as our ‘normal’ service, as there will be many constraints on how and what we are able to do. 

The leaders are reviewing the current guidance from the Baptist Union and the government to ensure we can plan a safe return to church gatherings at church. Our intentions are always wanting to minimise risks and ensure the well being of our congregation.

We don’t know how things will change in the coming months so any plans we may make now will always be subject to change based on the latest guidance and current situation.

We will let people know nearer the time the exact details of our plans for reopening, the measures that will have been put in place and your role in helping make this possible.

Accessing Online Services

The live online Sunday services have now come to a close, as churches start to re-open and prepare to do so. We want to thank everybody who have joined us over the last few months and a special thank you to all those who have been able to contribute with bible readings and songs.

From September we hope to record services when they begin and post online. So stay tuned…

THURSDAYS ON ZOOM WILL CONTINUE

This week’s (30th July) Zoom meet-up will NOT take place, and we encourage you to access the Keswick Convention that is online all this week. (See https://keswickministries.org/)

However, the Thursday meet-up on zoom will be back on Thursday 6th August at 7:30pm and will continue for the foreseeable future.

See http://wvbc.org.uk/together for details.