GBC Community Update: Looking forward to Sunday!

​Good morning! I’m very excited about the chance to finally get back together Sunday as we reopen.  I know that some of you are super eager to come and others are hesitant so won’t be joining us. We’re all experiencing this in different ways so lets extend grace to each other as we process this. I think of Paul’s words:
 “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” 
In a world that seems to be becoming more polarized and divided we have the chance to let our lights shine as we show love to one another and unity even if we don’t agree with each other on everything. What a great opportunity!
 
 
Re-opening Sunday!
While I’m excited to be able to get together on Sunday there will naturally be some things that will be different and will require grace as we adjust and seek to provide an environment that people feel comfortable and safe returning to.
Please read the attached document from our Re-Opening Team. 
Not surprising, we’re asking everyone to wear masks when you are here.  You can remove them when you’re seated and settled but we do ask that you wear them when you sing. I’m looking forward to seeing all the different variants of masks and even the level of creativity some of you bring!
Also, when the service is over, we’d ask that if you want to hang out and reconnect (which I want to encourage!!) please do it outside where we can spread out more easily.  Have any questions? Let me know!
Thanks to Helen and Bob for providing leadership with this
 
 
GBC Mission Focus
Royal Life Mission (Kevin Coghill)
Work with Guelph’s most vulnerable
Cooling Centre – Offering reprieve and relief in the Summer Heat!
Meals – It’s about the Relationships!
Volunteers needed!
At Royal City Mission we say we provide meals, but we aren’t about the food.  This is because what we are really about is relationships.  During Covid-19, we have had a difficult time connecting with many of our community members but with the nice weather, we have begun to catch glimpses of them and may even have a brief, physically distanced conversation.
We are opening our space for a “cooling centre.”  The heat we have experienced has been extremely hard on those who aren’t housed and so we need to have a safe and healthy space for people to cool off, have some water and even use a bathroom.  We plan to open on June 8 and will need volunteers to make this happen.  We hope to start by opening from 11- 4 pm Monday- Friday with possibly more hours should we have community support and the need.
We were working with the Welcome Drop In Centre to provide meals twice/day to people in need in our community, both sheltered and unsheltered.  Beginning this week, the Welcome Drop In Centre has arranged for The Seed to provide meals for sheltered people in need.  We will continue to work with the Welcome Drop In Centre to provide meals in front of our facility daily at 11 am and 6 pm for the growing number of unsheltered people in our community.
We also need volunteers to help at the Cooling Centre.
Please contact Lisa Laws if you would like to volunteer or provide food: [email protected]
 
 
Wednesday Prayer
Jacob and Karen Ginter host a weekly prayer gathering on Wednesday nights from 7-8pm. Join them as they pray through scripture for this current situation and for all of us.  You can connect through Zoom or by phone.   Here are the details:
GBC Wednesday Night Prayer
Time: 7-8pm
 Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/923156764
 Meeting ID: 923 156 764
 To join by phone…
Dial  +1 647 374 4685 Canada and then enter Meeting ID
 
 
A thought for the day: God’s at work!
There are a lot of people who are wondering where God has been in all this and if he’s as powerful as we at GBC say he is.  If he’s so powerful, some say, why didn’t he just sweep Covid aside?  Why do we have to go through a phased re-opening? Why doesn’t he end this?
God is mysterious and his ways aren’t our ways.  We need to re-examine these kinds of questions. They speak to the wonder of God's sovereignty. Working behind the scenes, He is moving and pushing and rearranging events and changing minds until He brings out of even this terrible situation a decision that will set His perfect plan in place. We see this throughout the Bible.
Don't fall into the trap of thinking that God’s asleep right now, is out of touch or lacking power.  He’s not sitting in heaven wringing His hands when it comes to what’s going on. Mark it down in permanent ink: God is always at work. But His ways are so different from ours, we quickly jump to wrong conclusions and so can either react rashly or get paralyzed in panic. Know this: God holds the future in His omnipotent hands. He’s moving. He’s working out his plan right now.  So you can rest assured.
 
 
In His grip,
Pastor Chris