Updated Wednesday 18 March 2020.
We recognise that with the rapid spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), there is panic in our community, and precautionary measures are in place to prevent further spread/infection. We want to be sensitive to the real threat posed by this pandemic and heed the guidelines of the relevant health authorities.
ANCHOR IS MOVING ONLINE
Our regular Sunday gathering venue (Factory Theatre) has been closed. This morning, the Prime Minister banned non-essential indoor gatherings of more than 100 people, while the USA has discouraged gatherings of more than 10 people.
In light of this, we have decided to push all of our ministries and gatherings online until further notice.
JOIN US FOR ANCHOR ONLINE 10AM EVERY SUNDAY
We are not cancelling church.
We will continue to meet (online) and lift up the name of Jesus, offering God’s grace to our city in our time of need. Some may see this as a threat for the church, but we believe this is actually a great opportunity for the gospel to go deeper and wider in our lives and city.
We believe this is an opportunity for each of us to take greater ownership of our faith, to embrace new rhythms of prayer, Bible study, reading, listening to God, and other spiritual disciplines.
We believe this is an opportunity for families and households to become more like the church, to have Jesus at the centre of their family life, to focus on character formation and spiritual disciplines.
We believe this is an opportunity for us to bring the peace of Christ to our anxious world in an accessible way through online church and resources.
We believe this is an opportunity for us to embrace the common grace of technology in a new way to advance the gospel in our city.
And so here are some of our plans moving forward:
- Our Sunday gathering will be live streamed here @ 10am each Sunday.
- We are rejigging our Hebrews series to speak more directly into the current crisis
- Kids ministry resources will be provided for families
- Who could you invite to join us for online church? Simply send them the link!
- Gospel Communities will be meeting online using video conference platforms (Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts, Zoom, Skype, etc)
- Getaway has been postponed
- We are working on an online Easter experience for Good Friday and Easter Sunday
- We encourage you to take responsibility for your personal discipleship
- Why not join us to read through Hebrews on our Burn Your White Flags YouVersion Plan
- We believe the COVID-19 crisis may be a catalyst for a renewed focus on Triplets: a smaller more intimate environment for deep discipleship
- Download Triplets Guide
- Who could you meet with (online or in person) to read the Bible, apply the gospel to life, and pray for one another?
- Growth Track will be moving online
- Alpha is postponed
HEALTH PRECAUTIONS
We encourage you to stay up-to-date with NSW Health’s guidelines and take necessary precautions as you see fit.
Coronavirus is spread by contact with respiratory droplets. We urge you to please practice good personal hygiene, including washing your hands regularly for at least 30 seconds (why not pray the Lord’s Prayer while washing your hands?), and coughing/sneezing into your arm.
If you have returned from overseas since Monday 16 March, you must self-isolate for 14 days.
If you have been in close proximity with someone who has contracted coronavirus, you must self-isolate for 14 days.
If you are feeling unwell with respiratory symptoms (runny nose, sore throat, cough, fever, difficulty breathing, etc), you are encouraged to self-isolate.
We will continue to monitor the situation and update our response in line with advice provided by government authorities. Please stay tuned to all communication channels for updates.
Please know that our staff team are working hard to stay informed, plan ahead, and make wise decisions for the safety of our community and in the interests of wider community health.
FAITH, NOT FEAR
We realise that many people are panicked and afraid in the face of this health crisis. As God’s people, we want to respond with wisdom, and yet we also believe that Jesus calls us to a unique, counter-cultural response of faith.
The most frequent command in Scripture is ‘Do not fear!’ We believe this crisis is an opportunity for us to display our trust in God who is bigger than coronavirus and works all things together for his glory and our good—including sickness and disease. And so we are committed to praying for our church, community, and nation, knowing that God holds us in his hands. We are praying God protects us—especially our most vulnerable—from coronavirus, brings healing to those who have contracted it, and ask that we will be a people of peace in a time of panic.
We also believe that just as Jesus touched the leper and healed the sick, that the church is at its best when it has entered into the mess, pain, and disease of the world to be present with the sick offering compassion, grace, and healing. As a church, we are in fact a gathering of the sick (both spiritually and physically) as we come before our Father to receive healing and mercy.
And so while we can no longer meet face-to-face, the online doors of our church will remain open. We will continue to lift up the name of Jesus and offer God’s grace to our city in our time of need, even while we take necessary precautions to mitigate risk.
We hope you can join us to worship Jesus together online this Sunday.
‘Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.’ Hebrews 4:16