Still Zooming

With the worship in our churches set to feel very different to pre-virus days, and many people finding they are enjoying the many ways you can pray and worship online, ministry teams throughout our Diocese are in the process of finding the right blend of the new and the old 'normal' together.

And with social distancing meaning some activities still can't move offline, online video conferencing is still proving a great way to keep ministry and mission going in our communities.

Over in West Moors, they have been having great success reaching out through Zoom.

The Revd Andy Muckle explains:

"As well as our Sunday Facebook Live services, we have been running a Wednesday morning Zoom service which includes lectio divina and discussion, and this has been really successful.

"This weekend we branched out into social gatherings with a Pub Quiz by Zoom on Saturday evening. This was tremendous fun and included rounds on the church, sport (with a bit of bias towards Fulham Football Club!) and general knowledge. The quiz was won by a team styling themselves as the ‘Chocolate Oranges’.

"The following evening our youth group ‘Cosmics Plus’ met by Zoom to make ‘Mug Pizzas’ in their respective kitchens. The variety of pizzas produced in mugs were quite amazing with toppings that ranged from pepperoni and pineapple to courgette flower and cheese.

Cosmics Plus, mid-session

"A fun evening was rounded off by a quite surreal game of Pictionary on Zoom, although why someone thought my self-portrait was Donald Trump I will never understand...!

"It was a wonderful experience to use Zoom in these ways, and I think the weekend brought home to me the gifts we have been granted in these strange days to enjoy fellowship and that, despite everything that has happened, how wonderfully bound we are as a body of Christ in these times."