St Mark’s services are moving ‘face 2 face’!

See below for latest update

Click to watch our online services

📢 latest update 📢

31 January 2021

**Reminders of the current restrictions to keep us safe and meeting face to face**

QR code check-in

We require each person (not one per family) to 'check-in' with the QR code located in each pew @ St Mark's.
Children will also need to be 'checked-in' at this time with the QR code (please use the parent's contact mobile number).
We recommend downloading the free 'Service Victoria' mobile app from Apple or Google Play app stores prior to Sunday to assist with a speedy check-in.
If you do not have access to electronic 'check-in' perhaps ask the person next to you if they can check you in on their device or ask a staff member.
Click on the link here for more information on the Victorian Government QR system or click here for information on how to 'check-in' with the Service Victoria app.

COVID safe Sunday services

Do not attend if you have symptoms.
Hand sanitiser available.
Masks to be worn when singing.
Please carry a mask at all times and remember to keep a safe distance at morning tea.
Morning tea will still be served from the servery.
Our advice/recommendation is to be as socially distanced as practicable (1.5m is now a recommendation).
No hugging, kissing or shaking hands when greeting people.
Please bring your own bible, pen, note paper & water bottle (if needed) – this is a paperless service.
Offertories are preferred by EFT (church account details below). If you would prefer to give by cash or cheque, please drop your offering into the offertory box attached to the wall at the back of the church (near welcome desk). Thank you.

Account name: St Mark's Church Camberwell
BSB: 033 039
Account: 862 485

After each service:

Cleaning of each space will take place after every gathering (by a team of cleaners).

Current room limits (subject to using QR check-in):

Church - 200, Hall - 80, Canterbury Room - 60, Upper Lounge - 35, Lower Lounge - 30

11 December 2020

face 2 face church 13 december

St Mark's Face 2 Face Church
Sunday 13 December @ 10am
Service of Morning Prayer followed by morning tea in the hall

As further restrictions have been lifted, we now live in the final stage of 'COVID normal'. Although we are not back to complete normality, we look forward to the freedoms this last stage allows us at St Mark's. Please note the following updated restrictions to help keep us all safe and meeting face to face.

QR code check-in

You are no longer required to book to attend, instead we require each person (not one per family) to 'check-in' with the QR code located in each pew @ St Mark's.
Children will also need to be 'checked-in' at this time with the QR code (please use the parent's contact mobile number).
We recommend downloading the free 'Service Victoria' mobile app from Apple or Google Play app stores prior to Sunday to assist with a speedy check-in.
If you do not have access to electronic 'check-in' please complete the manual 'sign-in' sheet at the back of the church.
Click on the link here for more information on the Victorian Government QR system or click here for information on how to 'check-in' with the Service Victoria app.

COVID safe Sunday services

Do not attend if you have symptoms.
Sanitise hands on arrival.
Masks are no longer mandatory, though we encourage you to please carry one and use for congregational singing or when you cannot be at a reasonable social distance.
Our advice/recommendation is to be as socially distanced as practicable (1.5m is now a recommendation).
We discourage hugging, kissing or shaking hands when greeting people.
Please bring your own bible, pen, note paper & water bottle (if needed) – this is a paperless service (no pew sheets provided).
Offertories are preferred by EFT (church account details at the end of this email). If you would prefer to give by cash or cheque, please drop your offering into the offertory box attached to the wall at the back of the church (near welcome desk). Thank you.

Sunday Club

The service begins for parents and kids in the church building.
Sunday Club aged children (Prep - Grade 6) will move to the parish centre after the kids’ talk.
Children will still need to be signed-in manually on arrival to Sunday Club as per the Child Safe church policy.

Pre-school aged children

The Lower Lounge will be available for parents to use to supervise their own pre-school aged children. There will be easy-to-clean toys & activities available.

After the service:

Refreshments (with restrictions) are now permitted. We welcome you over to the hall after this Sunday's service with morning tea being served.
Cleaning of each space will take place after every gathering (by a team of cleaners).

6pm Face 2 Face service - Sunday 13 December

The 6pm service resumes this Sunday Face 2 Face. We will meet in the church building (not the hall) and look forward to finally seeing one another in the flesh. After the service we look forward to enjoying a BBQ dinner together.

Current room limits (subject to using QR check-in):

Church - 200, Hall - 80, Canterbury Room - 60, Upper Lounge - 35, Lower Lounge - 30

For December & January service details please click on the link here.

update 27 November 2020

face 2 face church 6 december

What a year it has been! We are finally looking ready to come back to 'Face 2 Face' church and we can't wait to see you all again.

Bookings are now open for our first church service live on Sunday 6 December 10am. This will be a Holy Communion service, led by Fionna and Greg will preach (there will be the usual YouTube service for those unable to attend).

To book for 6 December:

Please click here to register attendance or use this link: https://www.trybooking.com/BNFTK
Children can be registered for either the church or the hall. (No creche available for today.)
Sunday Club in the hall for ages 3-14.
Our venue limit is 100 in church and 40 in the hall total.
If you don't have access to 'trybooking' please email the office (office@stmarkscamberwell.org.au) with your booking details (full name/s & contact phone numbers).
If after registering you cannot attend, please contact the office (office@stmarkscamberwell.org.au).

On arrival:

Children for Sunday Club go straight to the hall and have their names checked off.
Please observe all COVID safe measures by: wearing a face mask, sanitising hands & keeping 1.5m apart.
Collect your individual communion cup & wafer provided before being directed to your seat/s.
Please check in with the QR code in the pews.
Please bring your own bible, pen, note paper & water bottle (if needed) – this is a paperless service (no pew sheets provided).

After the service:

Please join us after the service at 11.30am in Norway Reserve located on the corner of Parlington & Woodstock Streets, Canterbury for a BYO picnic. Either walk from church (5-10 mins) or park in the surrounding streets. Directions here.

*Note - the 6pm service resumes Face 2 Face on Sunday 13 December.

For December & January service details please click here.

Update 20 june 2020

church online until further notice

Due to the Victorian Premier revoking the easing of restrictions, live church will not be going ahead on 28 June as we had been planning. We will continue to provide the recorded services until further notice. Please continue to check your emails or our website for more information.

Update 19 June 2020

bookings open for 28 june church service

COVID safe church - Bookings now open!

Bookings are now open for our first church service live on Sunday June 28. Please note that we have various limits, but with 50 in the church, 34 primary aged kids in the hall, 15 youth in the upper lounge, plus about 30 rostered people making it happen, we should be able to accommodate all who wish to attend.

We aim to livestream the service so that those who cannot come or who are concerned about their health will still be able to participate.

We will meet for one service at 10am. Please use this link at Trybooking to register attendance.

Sunday Club will begin on the same Sunday with direct drop off to the hall. It will run for the duration of the whole service. Parents must read this before booking.

Please note:

Book in the correct group. If you are rostered on any roles in the service or helping in children's or youth ministry, please book as a rostered helper.
Creche bookings need to include both child and parent in numbers.
Children sitting in church with their parents will be considered as an extra person when booking.
If, after booking, you are unable to attend please return the tickets, via the 'click here' at the bottom of your emailed receipt.
Attendees will need to bring their own Bible and water bottle as books cannot be shared and there will be no refreshments.

There will be no morning tea initially, however we can have conversations after church outside.

Other gatherings are allowed now:

Small groups may meet face-to-face in people’s houses.
Youth group will likely begin face to face in term 3.
Monday morning prayer will continue on Zoom.

General rules for all meetings:

Each meeting will have a COVID Safe Officer.
All meetings must be socially distanced.
An attendance record with name and contact details must be kept.
Area must be cleaned after each meeting. COVID safe officer (CSO) responsible for overseeing cleaning. Cleaning materials and a check list will be provided.
You must not attend if you are at all sick with any cold or flu symptoms.
Hands must be sanitised on entry and exit, sanitiser provided.

We are so looking forward to meeting together again face to face. In the words of Paul, ‘I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.’ (Romans 1:11-12)

Update 29 May 2020

Moving forward and coming back together

Firstly, please pray for Greg, the staff team and the church council as we make decisions about how to move forward. In a sense coming back together is harder than going out. There are numerous rules and bits of compliance, but no play book as every church needs to make its own decisions according to their unique circumstances.

We are planning for our first church service live on Sunday June 28. We hope we can have between 50 and 80 people in the church. (80 is the maximum socially distanced in the church.)

We will meet for one service at 10am. We will use Trybooking for registering attendance - more details to come. Please keep reading the newsletter and website updates as the rules and advice from both the government and the diocese change quite quickly.

We aim to livestream the service so that those who cannot come or who are concerned about their health will be able to participate.

Sunday Club will begin on the same Sunday with direct drop off to the hall. It will run for the duration of the whole service.

We can have conversations after church, although some may occur outside (please bring a warm coat!).

Other gatherings can start from Monday June 1.

Small groups may start to meet face to face in people’s houses.
Open doors could meet back at St Mark’s.
Youth group will begin face to face in term 3. Please read the youth newsletter.
Monday morning prayer will continue on zoom.

General rules for all meetings:

COVID Safe Officers are a requirement to check we are compliant – especially at church services. Linda and Jodine are the weekday COVID Safe Officers. The staff team are the COVID Safe Officers on Sundays. Other groups need to appoint a COVID Safe Officer.
All meetings must be socially distanced. A seating plan is being created for church.
All gatherings must keep a record of participants including first name, phone number, suburb and email address.
After every gathering the area must be cleaned. Leaders of the gathering are responsible for cleaning. We will have hospital grade disinfectant. A check list will be provided.
You must not attend if you are at all sick.
We have ordered two automatic hand sanitiser machines.

Update 23 March 2020

Advice from Archbishop and Government

Dear all, please see a note from the Archbishop instructing that all regular public gatherings are to be suspended. This includes all St Mark’s organised activities, including off site ones. I have clarified with the Archbishop that this is including all church services, morning prayer, small groups, youth groups, mainly music, open doors, and parish council. All meetings from now on will be online.

These are unusual and trying times, but the staff are still at work, we still believe in God’s goodness and control, and we will still strive to make sense of life!

See attached file.

Cheers
Ven Greg Allinson
Archdeacon of Kew
Vicar, St Mark’s Camberwell
'Making sense of life’ :-)

Update 14 March 2020

St Marks Services are Online

Due to new Government regulations limiting gatherings bigger than 100, but also because of concerns of many people, our Sunday services will be online for the foreseeable future. The regulations and rules change almost daily, so we will be in contact with you regularly with updates, and with when we can resume services.

We have already taken a number of actions in order to continue to encourage each other’s faith:

We will record and upload a church service to YouTube and Facebook for Sunday morning – the link will be on the website, and we will send it to you via email and Facebook.

We have added a blog post with prayer points to encourage everyone to be praying.

We are beginning some Zoom meetings for small group bible studies.

We are building a ‘Connect 5’ pastoral support for all members of our congregation where we hope everyone will be in some form of contact each week.

Small gatherings like small groups, youth group, mainly music etc can continue to meet if they wish and while regulations allow. We will continue to help people make sense of life. To get to know Jesus, to put their faith in Jesus and to grow in their following of Jesus.

We continue to believe that God is sovereign over all our world and all circumstances in the world.

From Ephesians 1:

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14 this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

We will keep in touch through regular email updates, as well as through our new website blog and on Facebook.

Yours in Christ

Ven. Greg Allinson (vicar)