e-Letter

Dear West View family

Thank you for opening your hearts and purses towards the relief fund to assist those affected by the unrest in parts of KZN and Gauteng. The Ditshego Board donated R15 000 and congregational donations have exceeded R17 000. We have donated R20 000 to Phakamisa (http://www.phakamisa.org) and the remaining money collected will go to other relief efforts both in KZN and in Gauteng. We will close this fund at the end of July.

A huge thank you to the W.A. for exceeding their target of 670 pairs for Mandela Day and knitting instead over 700 pairs of fingerless gloves for the children of Mooiplaas. What a gift they must be in this cold weather!

ONLINE AND IN-PERSON HEALING SERVICE

As Gauteng exits the third wave of Covid-19 infections and more and more people are vaccinated, it becomes safer once again for us to meet for in-person worship and gatherings. Starting this Sunday 1^st August, we will worship at 8h00 and 10h00. Attendance is limited to 50 people per service and mask-wearing, physical distancing and sanitising will be the order of the day. No pre-registration is necessary. Our in-person gatherings will be times for us to heal, in community, from the trauma of recent events. I look forward to seeing you once again! Online worship @ 8h30 continues for those who are unable to attend in-person worship. Our online and in-person worship services this Sunday are healing services. Please attend with an openness to the healing work of God’s Spirit in your life.

CHILDREN’S CHURCH AND ROOTED YOUTH

Children’s Church and Rooted Youth will meet at 9h45 for 10h00. I encourage parents to prioritise bringing your kids back to Children’s Church. The past 18 months have been a huge disruption to the spiritual formation programmes that Children’s ministry offers your children, and it is so important for our children to learn, alongside other kids, about God and the Christ-following life, quite apart from the social interactions that our children have been starved of in recent months.

CONDOLENCES

We extend condolences

• to the family of Mary Lutschinsky on her passing. Mary’s memorial service will be at 10h00 on Wednesday 28 July
• Lianda, Douglas and Kyron Healy on the passing of Lorraine Williams. Lorraine’s memorial service will be at 10h00 on Thursday 29 July
• to the family of Sipho Ngobeni on his passing. Details of Sipho’s funeral are yet to be confirmed.
• Jayson, Christien, Thomas, Abigail and family on the passing of Thomas Wilke Snr. Thomas’s memorial service will be held at 13h00 on Friday 30 July

SOME THOUGHTS ON THE NEXT YEAR

This excellent article (https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-07-26-everything-you-need-to-know-about-vaccines-our-only-viable-strategy-for-living-with-covid-19/) reminds us of the stark reality that all of us, unless we hide behind a wall for the rest of our lives, will likely get the COVID-19 virus at some point. It is likely to circulate, mutate and recirculate like all other coronaviruses. However, vaccination and subsequent boosters will give us near-complete protection against severe illness and dying from Covid.

It is likely that we will experience a fourth wave towards the end of this year. However, as more and more people get vaccinated, this wave will not lead to such high levels of hospitalisation and death. One death is one death too many, and so whilst we will continue with in-person worship and gathering for the remainder of this year, we will continue to observe the protocols that we have become used to – mask wearing, physical distancing and sanitising.

Grace and Peace

Ian

Senior Minister