Update - 12 August 2020

Kia ora, City on a Hill whanau,

With the return of community transmission of COVID19 in New Zealand we want to assure our church family and guests that we’re committed to taking appropriate precautions during this time. Added to that, we want to encourage our church family to continue to express Christian love to one another and the community around us.

City on a hill services and gatherings this weekend

With the recent changes to COVID Alert Levels (currently Level 2 for Wellington) our Morning Church venue has suspended all outside booking for this weekend - Sunday 16th August. This means there will be no church service at Te Whaea this Sunday morning.

If the Alert Level remains at 2 (or is reduced to 1):

• Morning Church will run at 10am in the Ministry Hub on Tory Street and live-streamed (cityonahill.co.nz/online-church):

  • Due to the size of the Hub we will be capping the numbers of who can attend to 40 people. We will be asking people to register their interest (details to come) if they are planning on coming to the Ministry Hub for church.

  • We will be encouraging Community Groups to gather for church together in homes.

  • There will be no kids church programme at the Ministry Hub.

  • A Kids Church TV option will be available alongside the live-stream.

  • If you were rostered on to serve your ministry team leader will be in touch with you.

• Night Church will run at 6pm as per normal in the Ministry Hub on Tory Street

If the Alert Level is raised to 3:

• Morning Church and Night Church will be live-streamed from the Ministry Hub and only staff will be present to put it together.

CONTInue to trust God

The thought of returning to higher Alert Levels again can be stressful, even if it’s only for a short time. As Christians, we can take courage in the fact that God is sovereign, and He is not surprised by these events. He has a good plan for all of this, and we can trust in Him. Even though we feel pain at the moment, we have a God who hears our prayers, and we can bring all of this before Him.

CONTINUE TO PRAY

We believe in the goodness and sovereignty of God and we want to be a church that is prayerfully dependent on him. We believe in thanking God for the health services available to us while always confident in his power to heal. All the while we are ultimately looking forward to the day when Jesus will wipe away all sickness, pain and death.

CONTINUE OUR RESPONSIBILITIES AS A COMMUNITY ORGANISATION

As an organisation we will seek to take a cautious approach out of love for the wider community. We will follow the general advice provided by the New Zealand Ministry of Health Manatu Hauora, Regional Public Health and the Capital & Coast District Health Board regarding public meetings, self-isolation and other guidelines they may provide. We will also cooperate with any requests for information from government health authorities.

We'd encourage all people to follow the current NZ Ministry of Health Advice:

• physical distancing in public places

• wash your hands with soap and water often (for at least 20 seconds)

• we are and cough into your elbow

• keep a track of where you’ve been and who you’ve seen - we strongly recommend everyone download and use the NZ COVID Tracer app

• wear a face covering if you can

• if you are unwell:

  • stay home

  • don’t go to work or school

  • don’t socialise

  • if you have symptoms of cold or flu call your doctor or Healthline (0800 358 5453) and get advice about being tested.

If it comes to the point where health professionals recommend certain high-risk groups (e.g. elderly) not attend public events, we will seek to ensure those members of our church community are contacted with that advice.

In the internet age, there is a significant danger for misinformation and miscommunication leading to unnecessary panic or complacency. As a church community, we want to ensure that we are always speaking the truth and not perpetuating gossip and inaccurate information. We ask that people only share information within our community that is from reliable authoritative sources and that is directly relevant to the situation here in New Zealand.

CONTINUE MEETING TOGETHER

As God’s people we’re committed to regularly gathering together to praise Him, to pray and to hear God speak through the Bible. If we are directed by the Government and Health Authorities to suspend our full Sunday church gatherings, we will move our services to a live-stream. For those unable to attend our services in person we will be hoping to provide a live-streaming service of both 10am and 6pm Sunday Services which can be found here.

We're making plans for how we can best connect with one another as a church family if people are unable to attend for prolonged periods of time.

IF YOU ARE SICK - CONTINUE CARING FOR OTHERS

We want to reiterate our existing advice regarding loving others by staying at home to recover if you are sick. While this is something that has been regularly discussed at City on a Hill, it applies even if there were no current COVID19 concerns.

We'd encourage individuals to lovingly excuse themselves from attending any gatherings for 48 hours if they have shown any of the following symptoms; fever, vomiting, or diarrhoea. Parents may also need to consider withdrawing children from church programs in the event of other symptoms (e.g. newly developed cough, sore throat, runny nose). 

It's important we all follow these guidelines, especially those on who serve across our church in various ways - since those roles can involve lots of contact with other people.

IF OTHERS ARE SICK - CONTINUE CARING FOR THEM

If people in our church family become ill or if they are required to stay at home for long periods of time, we want to be a community that is quick to provide support for them and their families/flatmates. In most circumstances, this initial support will come from people within their Community Group, as our Community Groups are best situated to be aware of people's needs and provide care.

Therefore, we encourage everyone at City on a Hill to be aware of the particular circumstances of others, especially people in their Community Group (i.e. health concerns, financial concerns, and social circumstances). We would also encourage Community Group leaders to let the staff know about those people who are in need so that we can seek to best coordinate support as a wider church family.

Further to this, our Christian concern for others goes beyond our own church family.

We want to encourage everyone at City on a Hill to be aware of people experiencing difficulties in their own communities (workplaces, school communities, local groups, etc). While many Christians are blessed with a church family around them to provide care when in need, many people in our wider community may find this time very isolating. As such, we want to be a church family that displays the love of Christ far and wide so that people may glorify Jesus when he returns (1 Peter 2:12).

CONTINUE WALKING WITH CHRIST

We continue to trust God in the midst of this concern, and - because of God’s grace shown in and through our church family over the years - we're confident that God will continue to help us show maturity and love in Christ in the coming months.

If you do have any concerns or questions, please don’t hesitate to contact one of the staff.

Further resources:
NZ Ministry of Health - Managing your mental wellbeing (with a helpful section on taking care of children)
NZ Ministry of Health - Question & Answer