1. Finding ourselves in the middle of September and looking to the times ahead, we are thinking now about how to accommodate ourselves to the new-normal post-the-pandemic-emergency. There are two themes that stand out for us. First, we need to make use of the stage three provisions on social gatherings to develop accessible options for those who are not able to join us on Zoom and yet could attend a hybrid worship service in person — provided carefully observed distancing and hygiene protocols are in place. Second, we need to exercise caution with respect to the possibility of a second wave of Covid-19 in the weeks and months ahead.
2. We are going to maintain our virtual worship gathering on Sundays as they are indefinitely into the future. We will work in the weeks ahead on developing an accessibility option at 24 Main West in which those who cannot join our virtual worship gathering elsewhere can join the virtual gathering from 24 Main West. We will keep in place our phone network to share with such folks the distancing and hygiene protocols we will implement in a few weeks time.
3. At no time will we encourage people to attend an in-person gathering without giving them the resources to self-screen and to be fully informed of the safety and health measures we have in place for in-person gatherings.
4. We are also turning our attention now to how we best provide faith schooling to the children of New Vision as a community through this stage.
5. We will be celebrating communion this Sunday Sept 20 at our Virtual Worship Gathering.
6. The Rest and Hygiene Centre needs volunteer(s) to pick up sandwiches donated for our guests (currently Mon.-Fri., but possibly 7 days a week if we have enough volunteers).
The pick-up location is 350 King Street East (near Wellington), any time after 4 pm. Sandwiches are dropped off at New Vision. If you are able to help with this task, please contact Orianna Mak @ orianna.mak@medportal.ca
7. The public capital campaign for the Music Hall at New Vision is launching Friday Sept 25 at 9:30 pm with the Do Well by Hamilton album launch. It is the last event in McMaster University’s Socrates Project Shift 2020. You can learn about Shift 2020 and the Socrates Project here https://socrates.mcmaster.ca/shift-2020/. View the Music Hall at New Vision’s campaign website here https://www.dowellbyhamilton.com/
8. New Vision is partnering with Cobalt Connects https://cobaltconnects.ca/ to start the Music Hall social enterprise. New Vision’s primary role in the capital campaign is to build social capital through an intercultural consultation with Hamilton’s diverse communities. We hope the result will be a network of empowered people who have been marginalized to contribute to programming at the Music Hall at New Vision guided by a Music Hall social enterprise charter. You will be hearing more about this consultation and the invitation to participate in it in the weeks ahead as the fall gets going.
9. New Vision Virtual Worship is experiential, participatory, image-rich and collective, just like worship in person at New Vision! Join us on Sunday mornings 10:30 am week to week during the Covid-19 emergency by clicking here. If you want to put the link someplace easy to find each week, here it is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/782292511. Please share it with others and invite them to a “different” kind of time on Zoom from the usual.
10. You can also call in to the gathering on the telephone toll free. Call 1 855 703 8985, then, when prompted, input the Meeting ID 782 292 511 followed by the # sign. Ignore the prompts for Participant ID and Password. You are in when the recorded voice says, “You are in the meeting.” If you can only connect by video on your computer with no audio, you can use the phone connection for audio and the computer connection for video.
11. For updates on New Vision plans in the post Covid-19 emergency recovery, please visit http://newvisionunited.org/new-vision-covid-19-updates/.
Hope to see you on Sunday ~ again, or for the first time!
Rev Ian