Month: March 2020

To give everyone an idea of what this Sunday will look like, we’ve put together a short running order. This will be a mix of some live and pre-recorded content which we hope will be a blessing to you and provide an opportunity for us all to stay connected:

Live Stream @ 10:45am – Shona will introduce and welcome you to our virtual service!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YpOrnOGVaAnSXbYN1nwhiGVnzSO7AosS/view?usp=sharing

The link above leads you to a short video message from Shona and I about the first of our Church at Home services which we will be streaming live at 10.45am this coming Sunday via this link to Facebook http://www.facebook.com/moortownbaptistchurch

We do hope you will be able to join us.

Graham

Coronavirus Outbreak

Useful Websites and Contact Numbers

Government Guidance on Preparing to Stay at Home

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection#things-to-help-you-prepare-no

Government Guidance on Social Distancing and Accessing Essential Services: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-social-distancing-and-for-vulnerable-people/guidance-on-social-distancing-for-everyone-in-the-uk-and-protecting-older-people-and-vulnerable-adults

NHS info on coronavirus:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

NHS 111 – checking symptoms and get advice: https://111.nhs.uk/ Or dial 111.

Mental Health Support – Taking care of your mental well-being during coronavirus outbreak, including advice, resources and links to helplines and local services

https://www.mindwell-leeds.org.uk/home/information-on-coronavirus

CarersUK – General advice for carers: https://www.carersuk.org/ and also coronavirus-specific e.g. how to make a contingency plan if you are a carer, how to protect those who you care for: https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/health/looking-after-your-health/coronavirus-covid-19 CarersLeeds helpline – 0113 380 4300 (Mon, Tue, Thurs, Fri 9am-4.30pm, Weds 8am-6.30pm).

AgeUK Information and advice on all aspects of growing older: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/and also coronavirus advice: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/health-wellbeing/conditions-illnesses/coronavirus/

AgeUK Free Helpline – 0800 678 1602, Open 365 days a year from 8am-7pm

Silverline Free Helpline – 0800 470 8090, Open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.

68% of calls are made at nights and weekends. Helpline for older people, includes services such as telephone friendship where a volunteers are matched to a person who they make a 30 minute telephone call to, once a week https://www.thesilverline.org.uk/

Leeds Directory – Information on checked and vetted local services and tradespeople

https://www.leedsdirectory.org/ Leeds Directory – 0113 378 4610 (weekdays 9-5)

Care and Repair – https://care-repair-leeds.org.uk/ Independent Home Improvement Agency with charitable status. Currently offering telephone assessments for fitting of grabrails, bathing equipment, and heating issues such as broken boiler/gas fire and contractors will then visit to carry out the work. Telephone to check eligibility for assessment: 0113 2406009

Ideas to stay connected from a distance

In this time of crisis there are many opportunities to pray, reach others and discover new ways of doing things and being church. Through this time God will continue be with us and show us may positive ways to relate together.

Sunday Services

We shall be making a virtual service available from this Sunday morning – this will include links to songs, a talk, readings, prayer and all age talk and opportunities to interact through live streaming.

We will continue to provide recorded or paper resources for those that need it.

Details of how to access this will be sent out shortly.

Inviting your help

As we develop new ways of working we are seeking help from those who have technical and production skills as we put on virtual services. Please get in touch with Shona or Graham if you can help.

Groups – small groups, home groups etc

The guidance is that you do not meet at the moment.

We suggest the following:

Hold a virtual meeting by Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook or Zoom

You can find details by checking online – for instance Zoom offers a free 40 minutes meeting with one person signing up as a host.

If virtual technology doesn’t work for you then why not send an email to one another and agree to meet and pray in your homes at the same time in the week.

Ring each other in your group 2 or 3 times a week.

You may consider meeting up safely by meeting in a park and going for a walk together, whilst keeping a safe distance. Please be aware that children are unlikely to keep the necessary safe distance. If you do this remember to travel in separate cars.

Please remember:

SOCIAL DISTANCING = avoiding all non-essential contact with others, and staying at home as much as humanly possible to reduce the risk of catching the infection. For at-risk groups ie over 70s, pregnant women, those with underlying health conditions or taking meds that risk their immunity…

SELF ISOLATION = staying at home COMPLETELY 100% (and even staying by yourself within the home where possible) for 7/14 days (depending on if symptoms vs household contact) because you or a member of your household have symptoms to reduce the risk of transmitting infection to others.

Buddying Up and visiting neighbours

Please be especially aware of those who are vulnerable or have been asked to self-isolate. Currently over a third of our church falls into this category. We are developing a network of pastoral care, please contact Jane Coates (07824317650) to volunteer to help. We are looking for those who can make calls and run basis errands.

Members of the Pastoral Care Team will be in regular telephone contact with those who are in the over 70 or ‘at risk’ and all who are required to self-isolate at home. Other members of the church have also been invited to offer support with regular telephone contact and with offers of appropriate practical support.

Here is a form you can copy and give out:

You can connect with friends and neighbours by ringing and checking the following things:

• How are they – physical health, mental well-being?
• Are they able to move around and do what they usually do at home?
• Do they have telephone contact with friends/other social support?
• Have they got enough food in the house at present? How are they getting their essential items of shopping?
• Have they got all the medication that they need – is this organised to be delivered by their pharmacy?
• Is their house working as it should e.g. heating on, lighting etc?
• Have they got things to do to occupy themselves?
• Is there anything urgent which they need posting?
• What would you like me to pray for?

Pastoral Follow Up

At the bottom of this note are useful contacts for Senior people in need of support.

If you have a concern when you are in touch with someone please get in touch with Shona or Graham.

Meetings of church

We are looking to enable meetings of teams and church to happen virtually through something like ‘Zoom’, we shall send details round before meetings are held.

We shall be in touch with any special invitations for prayer, support or gathering virtually.

Shona Shaw 07735458661                             Graham Brownlee 07979343857

Moortown Baptist Church Leadership Team.

Useful Websites and Contact Numbers

Government Guidance on Preparing to Stay at Home

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection#things-to-help-you-prepare-now

Government Guidance on Social Distancing and Accessing Essential Services: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-social-distancing-and-for-vulnerable-people/guidance-on-social-distancing-for-everyone-in-the-uk-and-protecting-older-people-and-vulnerable-adults

NHS info on coronavirus:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

NHS 111 – checking symptoms and get advice: https://111.nhs.uk/ Or dial 111.

Mental Health Support – Taking care of your mental well-being during coronavirus outbreak, including advice, resources and links to helplines and local services

https://www.mindwell-leeds.org.uk/home/information-on-coronavirus

CarersUK – General advice for carers: https://www.carersuk.org/ and also coronavirus-specific e.g. how to make a contingency plan if you are a carer, how to protect those who you care for: https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/health/looking-after-your-health/coronavirus-covid-19 CarersLeeds helpline – 0113 380 4300 (Mon, Tue, Thurs, Fri 9am-4.30pm, Weds 8am-6.30pm).

AgeUK Information and advice on all aspects of growing older: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/and also coronavirus advice: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/health-wellbeing/conditions-illnesses/coronavirus/

AgeUK Free Helpline – 0800 678 1602, Open 365 days a year from 8am-7pm

Silverline Free Helpline – 0800 470 8090, Open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.

68% of calls are made at nights and weekends. Helpline for older people, includes services such as telephone friendship where a volunteers are matched to a person who they make a 30 minute telephone call to, once a week https://www.thesilverline.org.uk/

Leeds Directory – Information on checked and vetted local services and tradespeople

https://www.leedsdirectory.org/ Leeds Directory – 0113 378 4610 (weekdays 9-5)

Care and Repair – https://care-repair-leeds.org.uk/ Independent Home Improvement Agency with charitable status. Currently offering telephone assessments for fitting of grabrails, bathing equipment, and heating issues such as broken boiler/gas fire and contractors will then visit to carry out the work. Telephone to check eligibility for assessment: 0113 2406009

Sadly we are having to call off Rewind to Easter. The schools have being contacted and I have made sure that they know we will stay in touch. 

Obviously, at this point in time we don’t know what the next steps are for the schools in terms of when/if they are closing but in the email I sent I have let them know that we want to support them, and it may be that when things settle down they want to rebook for an assembly or for a workshop. If requested we can of course send them some online resources which are linked to the objectives of the Easter story. There maybe also be a way that we can still hand the pots and the seeds out with a note so that children can still plant their flowers (symbols of new life) whilst they are at home. If you are interested in helping with this then do let me know. As always I welcome your thoughts.

One last thing, maybe we could also commit to praying for the schools who were due to come on Monday and Tuesday at the time they were due to be with us.

My thanks to you all for your support.

Shelley

We are sorry to say that owing to the governments latest recommendations re Coronavirus this week’s Oasis Café, Lunch Club and Moortots are cancelled.

However, we are still here so should you wish to contact us you can do so by either emailing  moortown.baptist@btconnect.com or by calling 0113 2693750.

Graham, Shona and the leadership are in constant touch regarding this fast moving issue, and we will post updates on Facebook, on Twitter and here on the website just as soon as we have them.

At today’s morning service (15th March) which included self-service communion and a special Church Meeting a number of suggestions were put forward as how best MBC can prepare for the expected escalation in the Covid-19 situation. The gallery of slides below set out just some of the ideas under consideration. Simply click on any of them to see a bigger image.

However, perhaps the most practical suggestion is the one above. It’s a piece of paper headed… if you are self-isolating, I can help. So if, or should that be when push comes to shove and I and my fellow oldies are confined to barracks and all those of you lucky enough to have been born post 1950 are wondering how best to help maybe downloading this would be a good starting point.  

In the meantime please keep checking this website for updates, and for good measure you can also follow MBC on Facebook and/or Twitter both of which you can set up via the links on our Home page.

Should you need to contact us MBC’s email address is moortown.baptist@btconnect.com and our phone number 0113 2693750.

Covid-19 advice

Clean hands, open hearts

We aim to support and care, as a community of people in Christ – keeping one another safe. As this situations develops we are carefully / regularly monitoring advice and the actions we are taking in church.

We seek to offer welcome in a sensitive way and we recognise that meeting together in a safe way is beneficial. We are disinfecting handles and toilets in church before and after meetings.

We are also considering how we can offer the best pastoral care and practical support to all at this time – we see this as an important opportunity.

In regard to this coming Sunday we’re sorry to say that our church breakfast is cancelled although the Music Room will be open between 9.30am and 10.15 for prayer. Communion and the Church Meeting will take place as announced.

Momentum is on this Sunday evening and Beacon Café, Oasis, Moortots and Lunch Club in the coming week. Home Groups should consider this advice as they plan meetings.

The leaders and teams will continue to receive guidance and support from the church.

Our advice for individuals is as follows:

If you have a high temperature or a continuous cough you should not come along to meetings and you should self-isolate for 7 days.

If you are anxious about coming to a meeting or have underlying health issues that make you vulnerable it may be wise to stay at home.

If you are staying away and/or are unwell please let someone in church know so we have stay connected with you and offer support.

 You should:

• carry tissues, use them for coughs/sneezes, and bin them.
• wash hands with soap and hot water  (for 20 seconds) or use sanitiser gel.
• avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Clean/disinfect frequently touched objects/surfaces.
• Avoid shaking hands or sharing hugs.
• Seek to maintain a 1 metre (arms length) personal space from others.