Christian Coffee House - Prayer/Chat thread. No rubbish church coffee allowed.

[Madhairday]

With the latest prayer thread coming to an end, we thought we would create a new thread for prayer and general chat too - we had chat threads running for years alongside prayer threads, and we thought it would be great to combine them. I try and collate some of the prayer requests from the last thread in the next few days. In the meantime, dive in! Lurkers/newbies - you are welcome to post. Feel free to start any chat subject about Christianity, church, worship etc, and do share any prayer needs.
Would love to hear from those who were on previous threads and haven't been around for a while, too. Come and let us know how you are.

The Zoom choir is not till next week. I wasn’t the only one who had not fully read the email our choirmaster sent round.

We are doing a eucharist service this Sunday, an Agape meal, or whatever you want to call it and I feel bereft as there is no one at home to share it with.

@Dutchoma I'm not entirely sure how those work but surely your minister will think of those not locked down with others /other believers and include suggestions for them?

Obviously one to start with could be that those members who are blessed with Christians with whom to break bread, think of and pray for those who don't.

I’m sure that will happen, StrawberryJam, it just emphasises the isolation lockdown. It can’t be helped.

Did others experience the Zoom problems when trying to have post-church "coffee"?

Yep, we did. And judging by twitter, loads of other people did as well. Perhaps it's the Sunday 11am surge!!

Actually I saw it was still bad in the afternoon so prob not church related after all!

Im on the local methodist church zoom for boys brigade purposes. Caused lots of confusion until we worked out it was affecting everyone. What a shame for everyone. Surely churches will be back soon. Even when they do reopen it makes sense to be socially distanced and for vulnerable to stay away if they are worried.

We lost the zoom coffee morning yesterday which was so frustrating. I'm hopeful all will be well for next week. In my deanery (group of local C of E churches)we are trying to work out how we open up when the govt allows us to. The plan for us as a small and quite elderly church is to continue with the online as well as the Sunday service and then work out how we can minister with the elderly who don't want or can't use online and can't get to church. I'm still scratching my head over that one.

I find recording the services very stressful but I'm so glad I did when zoom went down. There is so much to think about at the moment.

I think quite a few lost zoom yesterday morning with timing coinciding with end of services. I saw an email from another church suggesting it was weight of numbers, but who knows?
Sorry for not answering @ZenNudist sooner. Our zoom meetings are a quick catch up, some worship and prayer, then a talk from one of the leaders or a bible study facilitated by someone in the group, finally prayer and prayer requests for the week ahead. We use the free version, so we split the session into two, logging back in a few minutes after the first session has finished to do the second half of the evening.
Answering why I feel bereft at the end of that and other services - I live alone and that sudden silence after the chat, singing and human contacts is what I find hard. Everyone else attends with a family member, or has someone else in the house, so they're all heading off to do things with them, talking about their Sunday lunch, etc. I've recently been bereaved and it really hits hot that I'm so isolated.

We are doing the services on YouTube and Facebook, but of course then don’t have Zoom coffee time.

We don't have any online services from our church, but I can't see myself being happy to go back to actual church for a long time. Churches and similar gatherings are pretty bad for starting outbreaks.

Hi all, thanks for the Pete Greig link posted earlier on the thread, very encouraging!

Our church is doing YouTube and now also Zoom services. Everyone loves it. I really miss singing though! We don't sing on zoom.

Hi, I'd like to join this thread if that's okay. I'm having what I'd call a rekindling of my faith during lockdown and I'm looking at local church websites with the thought of visiting some local ones when things re-open. I suspect it's unlikely that anyone on here will live near me, but just in case, if anyone does know of a friendly church in the Norwich area I'd be really interested to hear about it.

@MollyWindley. It depends on the "style" of church you like.

I'm not in the area, but quite a few years ago I visited friends in Norwich for the weekend and ended up at Gateway Vineyard. I'd not attended a Vineyard church before and found it very different from my church, but I really enjoyed it and they made me very welcome.

Thank you @RoseforRembrance I guess I'm not going to be that worried about style as everything will be different from what I'm used to ~ I was in my younger days a very active Quaker, there is much I love about the Quaker movement, but I feel drawn to a more obviously Christian path.

Welcome Molly! So good to have you with us here. Feel free to chat about faith stuff as you walk this journey. I don't really know Norwich so can't help, but I'm sure there are plenty of great churches to look at :)

Yes I heard church broke Zoom on Sunday, for some reason our church coffee zoom room worked but not our children's zoom room, very strange. We live stream over FB then meet in a few different rooms, it works well. We're also planning to keep livestreaming when church meets back, for the shielded but also on a continuing basis for the long term housebound who are finally accessing church which is so vital. Should have been done a long time ago tbh.

How's everyone doing? I'm collapsing today after lots of work over the past few days, I had a TV interview yesterday (on TBNUK) so glad that's over with, phew! Book proposal all in now so just waiting, and trying to write in the meantime but struggling with focus. In a load of pain as well, not really lungs but feels like I've twisted my back somehow and it hurts all up my side and neck, can't move without squealing. Ouch.

How are you all getting on? Love this weather, just dearly wish I could go for a walk, and wish I was away in the caravan next week as we had booked with our friends. Gutting but it's the same for us all :(

Hi @Madhairday good to hear what you've been up to!

I probably did more yesterday than any day since lockdown started: Joe Wickes' workout (ow!), a socially distanced walk with a friend who needs some support at the moment; then into work for some computer help; then trying to used said computer at home; Zoom home group in the evening, all inbetween cooking for my children etc. Was exhausted both physically and emotionally by the end of it!!

We were discussing at home group whether in a few months some kind of open air church without singing might be possible, if allowed. Perhaps with social distancing between family groups, although perhaps too difficult to keep younger children to this I think. I wonder....

Hi MHD, interview sounds interesting I shall look forward to watching it later. Bad news about the back/neck pain, it doesn't help being stuck in the house, exercise helps alleviate, until you get so bad it hurts to exercise! I've been meaning to start yoga with Adrienne on YouTube to stop me waking up in agony every day. I get stiff as a board, not helped by desk job plus endless bending and lifting around the house. It's like StrawberryJam says, the kids are exhausting.

On the spiritual front I am feeling very out of touch with God. Still making time for mass and a bit of prayer every day, and try to start the day with gratitude to God. The feeling of disconnection grows and making time is hard amidst the busyness.

Hello @MollyWindley nice to meet you virtually. It's good that lockdown has given you a fresh perspective on faith. I'm a northerner so know nothing about Norwich. I did read about 2 churches in Norwich who contributed to the UK blessing. Google it. They were Soul Church (a bit too modern for my taste) and St Thomas Norwich. They will be very evangelical dynamic churches which might not be your cuppa tea but will have vibrant communties. St Thomas's website looks good. They are Anglican. You could try out their online worship first to test if you like the style.

Also hi to @RoseForRembrance, sorry for your loss, must have made lockdown all the more isolating and upsetting. I have added you to my prayer app (a new development for me keeping track of prayers) that you will find more support and some hope too. I hope the relaxing of lockdown allows you to get out and sit in a garden with a friend somewhere.

Thank you all for your warm welcome, I 'm pleasantly surprised that some of you have come up with suggestions, I always think of Norwich as an out on the limb kind of place, but clearly we're more famous than I realise!

@RoseForRembrance ~ I don't know much about Vineyard churches, the location of their new meeting place is a fair old walk for me, but I will add them to my list, thanks.

@Madhairday ~ I should warn you that I am a bit clueless on a lot of what I think of as Christian culture ~ I'm guessing TBUNK is a tv channel? ~ With regards to writing, a few of my friends are creative types and some of them have found being in lockdown is actually rather counter creative, particularly my Mum who's a talented amateur artist, she's found it impossible to concentrate on her painting. Of course being in pain doesn't help, hope you improve very soon.

@StrawberryJam200 ~ I love the idea of an open air church ~ I once went to an open air Quaker Meeting , held in an old Quaker graveyard! ~ it was a really lovely experience.

@ZenNudist ~ Funnily enough Norwich is further north than Birmingham, but I don't think of myself as a Northerner! Soul Church is becoming quite big in these parts, even I have heard of it, I had promised to visit it just as lockdown started but of course that was cancelled...my middle son's girlfriend goes there and I'm pretty certain that when I do visit I will be the oldest person there and that I may have to take ear plugs. St Thomas's though looks like a real possibility, I liked their website and they look to have a planter ( might be the wrong word but hopefully you know what I mean) church within walking distance.

Thank you for adding me to your prayer list @ZenNudist. Do tell me more about your prayer app. I have a notebook, but love the idea of being more 21st century!

@MadHairDay - fascinated by your book proposal.

@StrawberryJam200 I love the sound of open air church. Many years ago I went on an Oak Hall Holiday and the open air services were very spiritual and memorable.

The most inspiring open air service was for me a communion service on the border of Lake Gallilee. That was on the last day of the time we were there in 2015.

@Dutchoma that must have been amazing!

Can I ask for prayer for my DC? Today's had a few problems, pointing to longer running problems. Thanks

That sounds amazing DutchOma. I think last Sunday’s mass video from the presbytery garden is as closest we’re going to get for a while

Will add your DC to my prayers Strawberry

I hope today is better for you Strawberry