A message from our Minister, Rev. Fiona Mathieson, on March 18 2020

Dear Friends ,

From today the church complex will be closed. In taking this decision we are following guidelines sent to us by officials in the Church Offices. The Senior Office Bearers' Group also feel that we want to ensure that folk are kept as safe as possible. People often have underlying health conditions which we do not know of and so even those who are not obviously in high risk groups could be infected by Coronavirus if we do not take sensible action.

The Corstorphine Dementia Project staff will continue to be in their office and the Jubilee Hall. Although the Jubilee Club is not meeting their staff may be undertaking home visits. They will be following strict guidelines laid down by the Council, and following their advice.

Bill Kerr, our pastoral visitor and I will be thinking about how we provide support to the congregation and parish. We will probably not be visiting people at home, but we will be in touch and will be available by phone.

Sunday worship will not take place until further notice. Again we will provide details of services which will be live streamed from other churches when we can. I would encourage you to watch and listen to services on the television and radio. It may be that we can make occasional services available to you on the internet, we have not done this before so please bear with us while we explore this.

Please let as many people as you can know of our decision.

These are difficult and uncharted times. There have been other crises in my lifetime but this is the first time that the threat of a pandemic has actually become a reality. We are all uncertain of what the next weeks and months will bring.

So I want to ask you to be sensible and to look after one another, friends, family and neighbours.

Some people would see faith as an insurance policy, but the journey into Lent shows us that this is not the case. Lent is not a lovely cosy story. It is a story of challenge and courage. And the Resurrection story gives us the courage to face the challenges of these next weeks.

I pray that a vaccine will be found and that the measures we are taking will stem the spread of the virus. May those who govern us be given wisdom and discernment as they take taxing decisions.

May God's love surround you and yours and his spirit give you peace.

Fiona Mathieson

Minister, Carrick Knowe Parish Church