As all activities are currently suspended during the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, HLBC is planning HOME CHURCH this Sunday.
Graeme leads us this Sunday for reflections, prayer and praise. You will need tea lights or candles for Sunday morning worship.
The murder of George Floyd in the US and the eruption of protest in its wake has broken with sadness and heartbreak into our hearts as a church. To hear the cry of those living through lifetimes, indeed generations, of injustice has been renewed in us with emotion and anger. We as a church cannot be silent in our prayers at these events, or in our individual responses. In the course of our Sunday Morning Worship we will be engaging in a Morning Vigil. This is in the form of a candle/ tea lighting prayerful action. We will be lighting our candles or tea lights at the beginning of the vigil. In this vigil we will be taking time for lament, remembering all victims of racism in our world today. (Including the family of George Floyd, and other families and cities that have entered times of unrest across the world.) I am asking you to take a moment to recommit and pray, and a further moment to declare. I would ask you to be ready to declare the following as you engage in this vigil.
Church Declaration:
“We as a church declare afresh that all are created equally beloved as children of our heavenly Father and that all people bear God’s image. As the followers of Jesus who himself worked out a vision of freedom and liberty for all. We say again that it is our duty to examine ourselves, to be informed and to engage actively in dismantling racism in both the public and private spheres we each inhabit. This is not something we can achieve with a fleeting concern but rather with commitment to a lifetime journey. Lord we ask for your help and your enabling. Lord, Have Mercy Christ have Mercy”
The leadership team are offering any help to those in the church who are deeply affected by all of this. We take this very seriously and we would like to listen and pray with you. You can call any of us and we will make time for you.
https://youtu.be/ml1EAEn4Itw
With us all staying at home due to the virus we will be doing a video stream each Sunday on the Harehills Lane Baptist Church YouTube channel. There will be a 30-minute programme of chat, Bible reading, intercessions, mini sermon and church news, introduced by Graeme. This is an opportunity to be together even as we are apart – some non-contact fellowship!
There is a long tradition of gathering in the green room after the morning service for coffee, tea and refreshments. So keeping up with tradition everyone is invited to a virtual coffee time after the Sunday morning YouTube service. The after church Coffeetime will be open from 10.45am onwards and can be accessed on ZOOM (details will be shared round the church mailing list on Friday).
Check the church Facebook page and this website for ongoing information on what’s happening for the HLBC community at the moment.