Together4Bristol : Bristol Churches Coronavirus Response

Bristol Churches Coronavirus Response - 2021 Update

Update from Bristol City Council

Updated: Feb 2021

Download .PDF Version (With Active Links): Click Here

Church Letter-1 95
Church Letter-2 95

Update from Church Leaders Zoom

Updated: Feb 2021

Highlights from update below:

PLEASE note the practical opportunity to support children experiencing digital exclusion, and share this across your congregations. Ray Viera’s church in Easton has already donated over 50 laptops!

PLEASE also note the Bristol Churches City Fund is also now calling for donations to support child welfare and food poverty – both critical needs. Do also share across your congregations

Hi everyone,

Just a quick reminder of some key things shared:

John Bradford shared about Digilocal and the partnership with churches to provide laptop donation points - https://www.digilocal.org.uk/. If you would like to set up a donation point then please drop an email to info a_t thenoise d_o_t org d_o_t uk . This is such a great opportunity for the Christian community to support children experiencing digital exclusion.
Joel Harris shared about Kintsugi Hope Youth wellbeing groups - https://www.kintsugihope.com/youth. This is such a great resource for churches with their own youth groups or working in partnership with local schools/community youth groups. The ‘ask’ from Bristol City Council is for churches to come forward who would like to pilot these groups in 3 secondary schools across the city. If you are interested in running a group then please contact Jean Allchorne (jean.allchorne a_t kintsugihope d_o_t com) who is Bristol Ambassador for Kintsugi Hope. Also, please check out the Kintsugi Hope website if you are interested in running wellbeing groups for adults in your church or community.
Bristol Churches City Fund is a platform to allow the Christian community to donate financial resources that can then be used in a strategic and targeted way to ensure the greatest positive impact. The Fund has renewed priorities for this year, focusing on child welfare and food poverty. Please share this with your churches and encourage people to donate: https://www.bristolchurchescityfund.co.uk/
We heard briefly about the vision of Noise 365 in showing God’s love in practical ways all year around - https://www.thenoise.org.uk/noise365 - with a newly developed resource bank, training, volunteering opportunities, etc..

Please do feedback to us as we continue to journey together as churches in responding to what God is doing across our city. We will be in touch in due course about the next gathering.

Andy Street (Christian Action Bristol)
Stewart North and Rachel Varley (Bristol Noise)

Posted: Jan 2021

Dear Bristol church leaders,

As the new year begins and we find ourselves in Lockdown 3, we are once again inviting you to join us in a coordinated response to support our city through the Coronavirus pandemic. Below, you will find an update on the achievements of last year, along with some key actions we are inviting you to participate in.

It is also viewable on the Bristol Noise and Christian Action Bristol websites, and later will be on social media too. We invite you to share these updates with your church families.

During 2020, churches across the city joined together with others, to show a spirit of generosity and kindness, and to give practical assistance to those most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This coordinated response saw:

Over 60 Christian households volunteering to support emergency foster care provision through Home for Good.
Over £130,000 raised through the Bristol Churches City Fund to directly support foodbanks and ensure they had a sustainable supply of food and to employ additional support workers over the next year.
Over 300 volunteers from different churches signing up to connect with volunteering opportunities, via Bristol Noise, to support the many initiatives happening in neighbourhoods across the city, and many more offering their time to charities across the city directly.
Three new foodbank delivery hubs set up in partnership with existing foodbanks to ensure that every neighbourhood has access to emergency food provision.
Churches reaching out to support neighbours in their community with practical support, such as shopping, as well as social support through befriending, including four churches who set up telephone befriending with national charity, Linking Lives UK.

As we begin a new year, the Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact our city and so, we are encouraging churches to continue in engaging with the coordinated response to help those most affected.
On a practical level, we are inviting you to:

Keep praying! We’ve found UNITE 7:14 a helpful starting point, but we encourage you to continue finding creative ways to pray during this crisis.
Be generous in responding to the citywide appeal to provide digital access to disconnected vulnerable families and children through the laptop donation project - click here
Connect with emerging opportunities to support the mental health of children and young people in your community, for example, through initiatives such as Transforming Lives for Good (TLG) and Kintsugi Hope. There will be more information to follow on this in the coming days/weeks.
Give financially to projects across the city that are providing ongoing support for food poverty and child welfare, through the Bristol Churches City Fund
Encourage each other to keep looking out for other people, whether they are in your street, at your workplace, online or far away. We shared some ideas before, and will be sharing more in the coming weeks. Do get in touch if you have found creative ways that could be shared with others!

Across the city, working in partnership, churches and Christians responded to the felt needs of the city of Bristol. As we look back, we also look forward to the challenge ahead. We do this with the knowledge that together - we can make a difference.

Finally, we are planning to host a Zoom call for church leaders across the city on Thursday 28th January at 4pm. If you would like to receive the Zoom details to join this short meeting and future gatherings for church leaders as we work together to response to the pandemic, please sign up here.

Thank you for your continued support.

God bless,

Andy Street (Christian Action Bristol)

Stewart North & Rachel Varley (Bristol Noise)