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VicReady750 Taverham church works together hand in hand


Whether the need was wash bags or plants, Tec church has stretched every fibre of the imagination to support its local community. Vic Ready, Senior Pastor of the church, tells the story.
 

Since lockdown began at Tec and we were unable to hold services anymore, we looked at ways we could continue with church, as well as supporting those in need in our community. We decided early on that we didn’t have the capacity for anything to ‘hi-tech’, so we decided on a regular Sunday email for the ministry of the Word, as well as regular Zoom communion, coffee and prayer meetings. This has worked well for us, we have been able to use church ministry friends from as far afield as London, North Allerton and the Philippines, as well as our own ministry team. Like many churches, we have found more people watching than would ever normally come to church. Church it would seem is no longer just Sunday, but seven days a week.
 
One of the ways we discovered that we could be useful, was in offering support within our local community of Taverham, Thorpe Marriott and Drayton. We had been asked by one local Care Home where we held regular services, if we could provide pillowcases to be made into wash bags. This was to enable them to place their uniforms and PPE in at the end of a shift. My church, Taverham Evangelical Church (Tec), supplied us with a great deal, but then we were asked by two other homes if we would do the same for them. I placed the request in our local community page on Facebook. The response was remarkable, one lady printed leaflets and then put them through local doors. She, my wife and several volunteers made some 200 wash bags. A similar number of toiletries were provided by the same local volunteers. This was not just church working, but community working together, hand in hand.
 
One unusual request from a Care Home was for plants for their sensory garden. At the time you couldn’t get plants for love nor money, but on my daily local walk I noticed a few plants advertised for free. I knocked on the door and said what they were for, and not only were those few plants given, but a complete car boot full. At another home one of our family workers, Rachel, has been singing outside the rooms where the Christian residents were missing their Songs of Praise, and this was well received. She has also organised and collated a great many supplies for Foodbank through various sources. 
 
Starting from August we will be running a ‘Tec Help’ Service. This is being advertised in local magazines. It is aimed at Tec working with church and community to meet whatever local needs there may be. Of course, we cannot meet every need and requirement, but we can signpost those needing help, to those that can. These are difficult and challenging times, but also times of great opportunity.

People wanting to connect with the Tec Help service can do so via hello@tec-church.com or on 01603 860192.
 
Pictured above is Vic Ready 
 

Eldred Willey, 06/08/2020

Published: 06/08/2020
Eldred Willey

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