Latest Updates Regarding COVID-19

3.26.20 – URGENT SHELTER NEEDS

3.20.20 – UPDATE FROM SOUTHRIDGE

As we strive to keep you updated, and in a spirit of being a proactive community that is seeking to love others by prioritizing the health and safety of all, especially the vulnerable and all our front-line workers, we are strongly encouraging as much self-isolation and social distancing as possible, avoiding all non-essential or emergency-related contact with people outside of your household.

To that end, we are asking that all Southridge-related groups refrain from meeting together in physical spaces and instead continue to work toward digital forms of connection like group texts and video-based chats. Thanks for working together for the well-being of all.

3.17.20 – UPDATE FROM JEFF LOCKYER

The latest from our Lead Pastor:

Hey Everyone,

As we find ourselves in a season that’s rapidly changing, we want to take every opportunity to be the church and leverage the life and power of Jesus in this unusual time. Here’s a brief summary of our ministry’s approach and challenges in the coming weeks:

• Inspiration: We’ve modified our Sunday services to an entirely online format and will launch a service this Sunday at 10:00am that people can access on our website real-time and/or again afterwards. As well, we’re interrupting our planned series to spend the next 3 Sundays specifically addressing the challenges and anxieties many people are facing during this pandemic in a new series called “Pardon the Interruption.” This is a great opportunity for you to invite friends who many not have experienced our church services to check out Southridge from the safety and comfort of their own home in the coming weeks! For other Sunday service-related supports and resources, click here.

• Connection: Because of the encouragement toward social distancing, our physical face-to-face connection as Life Groups will be limited and is likely to be continually discouraged. However, in a period of isolation we know we need community like never before! Our Location Pastors will be making a point to personally connect with every group leader—by telephone or video call—and we’d encourage group leaders to stimulate that same sort of connection among group members. Regularly check in and see how things are going. Offer prayers for one another. And leverage video chats or group texts to foster a greater degree of togetherness in this season. For other Life Group resources and Connection supports, click here.

• Family Ministry: Our Sunday morning programs are all moved online so that our kids don’t miss out on any of the curriculum development plans (Preschool, Movers & Shakers, R!OT).  Our weekly Preschool, M&S and R!OT curriculum can be accessed here. With a March Break now extended to 3 weeks—and the potential for even longer school closures—we empathize with parents and know there are mounting challenges that our parents are facing.  As a ministry, we want to disproportionately support parents and families during this time. We have created a “Family Survival Kit” of resources and encouragements for this season (it is continually being updated, so check back often); it is available on a Google Doc that you can access here. In addition, both our Kids’ and Student Ministries are eager to partner with parents to support conversations around the anxieties of this season. Small group leaders from M&S, R!OT and CURRENT will be reaching out to your kids and youth on a weekly basis and making themselves available to both help parents and to walk alongside kids and youth.

• Action: These days, this is where the real challenge of our church lies, because we want to continue supporting the most vulnerable of our society—especially in a time like this—but it’s becoming an extreme challenge with the encouragement to socially distance. In Welland, our Harvest Kitchen has morphed into a ‘drive-in’ pick-up format for safety’s sake, but in St. Catharines our Shelter is running low on volunteers while continuing as a ministry that offers a 24-7 emergency service. So if you’re comfortable serving in that capacity, we sure could use the help. You can e-mail Erica Singer, our Shelter Volunteer Coordinator, directly at esinger@southridgechurch.ca. For other encouragements and opportunities to serve, click here.

As always, we’d love to hear from you about how we can better be the church in a season where people need Jesus more than ever. Feel free to share ideas with us here (jmartens@southridgechurch.ca).  And look back here for ongoing updates on ministry needs and initiatives in this unprecedented season. We love you and love being the church together with you!

3.13.20 – UPDATE FROM SOUTHRIDGE

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3.12.20 – UPDATE FROM SOUTHRIDGE

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