Pickering Village United Church
300 Church St. N. L1T 2W7 Ajax, ON, Canada

We're still, I think, a fair ways away from this, but here are some thoughts from the United Church about re-opening churches during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is worth reflecting on.

Just a reminder for those who subscribe to this page - if you didn't know PVUC has established a Facebook group, allowing more interaction between members. This page is essentially for information sharing. The group name is "PVUC Online Group." If you missed it, here's a copy of our recorded worship service from this past Sunday, March 29:

This is the Moderator's weekly online worship service for March 22, 2020.

We are not gathered together today but we are still the church. A prayer: "God, help us to be the best we can be during this crisis that we face, and support and encourage us even as you lead us to support and encourage one another. Be with those who are sick - may your presence strengthen them as they recover, and may you comfort them and fill them with peace. Be with those who have lost loved ones - weep with them in their grief and remind them that their loved ones are now... held in your loving care, freed from sickness. Be with those who are alone and lonely in this time of increased isolation - may your presence become ever more real to them as you remind them that they are, indeed, not alone. Be with health care workers, emergency workers, retail workers and all who are helping us through this time of crisis - make them aware of how thankful we all are for their efforts. Be with our governments and leaders - may you fill them with wisdom as they make decisions for us all. Be with your church - may you help us to find our way forward as we seek new ways to connect and to be your people and your family. Through Christ our Lord I ask this. Amen. See more

Since the advent of social media in the last 12-15 years I've generally not sent Facebook "Friend" requests to parishioners. That somehow seems a bit of a violation of boundaries. I do, however, accept Friend requests from parishioners who send them to me. In this time of "social distancing" I think it's important for us to stay connected, so I just want to let you know that PVUC folk are invited to send me Friend requests, and I will accept them. Be warned: I talk about lots... more than church stuff and religion on Facebook. Even - gasp!!! - politics! (Yes, ministers have political opinions!) And from time to time you'll get some snippets of what life is like in beautiful Beaverton. And I do have some thoughts that I'll be rolling out in the coming days about how we might use social media to continue being and acting like the church for the next few weeks. So feel free to connect as we continue to work our way through this situation together. Blessings to all. Steven See more