We will be live-streaming church starting next Sunday 28 March.

[Sunday services will be streamed live on the Living Faith Church YouTube channel.](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuVrDYM_aV1tAGgPZpjI-mw?view_as=subscriber) Please feel free to subscribe, or bookmark the link. We will be sending out notifications detailing the service, including the starting time, closer to the 28th. If you haven't already, please download the Church Central app from the App Store, and add Living Faith Church to receive notifications directly,

In the meantime, radio station 89.9 TheLight, is going to be offering two special live radio programs this Sunday and every Sunday during this time the pandemic:

- Experience Church with live interactions

- In Conversation with Clayton with live interactions

Experience Church 6-10am and then extended live from 10am exclusively on 89.9 TheLight.

The first speaker this week is Tim Douglass, State Pastor of Hillsong Church for Victoria and Tasmania. He will be with you from 10am. At the end of his talk, you can phone in to our hotline and ask Tim any questions. Our very own Mj will be hosting the experience.

Sunday nights will now be ‘In CommunityConversation with Clayton’.

Each week Clayton will be taking your calls live with experts in the field of infectious disease, mental health, theology and much more. In Community Conversation with Clayton 7pm Sunday nights on your 89.9 TheLight.

Dear Church Family,

In the midst of the health crisis confronting us we remember who we are; people committed to love others as Christ has loved us. It is in this spirit of love that the Church Council has decided to close our worship services until further notice.

Options to run smaller services (less than 100) were considered and dismissed at this stage because our over-riding concern is to keep all vulnerable people safe as we follow the Government strategy to reduce face to face contact and prevent the virus spreading.

With the same concern for everyone’s safety, most of our programs have closed for the foreseeable future including Friendship Centre, Playgroups, Men’s Café Group and others. Life Groups may continue to meet but with Government endorsed protocols in place; no sharing of food and drink and ensuring members stay 1.5m apart. Each group will make up its own mind about meeting.

It is important that we stay connected in the months ahead both with each other and with God. Nurturing our faith will help us to be loving and faithful in the face of the anxiety that is causing social harm. We seek to be among those who bring blessing to others and look out for those in need.

Therefore, we will provide a regular ‘breath of fresh air’ through:

- Emails, including through Getting Connected

- the website https://www.livingfaithchurch.org.au/ and

- the app (download Church Central for iPhone or iPad from the Apple app store only). Install the app and then search for Living Faith Church

- phone calls to those who with limited ability to socially connect by the Pastoral Care team

We will introduce daily prayers and readings to the website and app. I would also like to collect prayers and stories of kindness from you to share in these daily spots. I have already heard many encouraging stories. Email them in to me at [graeme.harrison@livingfaithchurch.org.au](mailto:Graeme.harrison@livingfaithchurch.org.au)

We will find interesting links on the internet to help you grow your faith.

We hope to have the ability to live-stream worship and will let you know how to access that. In the meantime, audio recording will be available on our website and app.

Remember that the prayer chain is always available. No-one need bear their burdens alone.

Feel free to call me on 0422 490323.

Finally, I invite you to commit with me to be people who will not merely survive this time but will seek to be Christlike.

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with us and the whole community,

Graeme Harrison

For 18 years, Living Faith Church has supported Don and Meg MacRaild develop the Vanuatu Prevention of Blindness Program (VPBP). Vanuatu is the poorest nation in the pacific, and the people just don't have access to the level of medical care and diagnosis that we do in Australia. VPBP helps in identifying and treating preventable and treatable blindness, and has been doing so since it's inception. Through our support of this project, among other trips and connections, our relationship with the Church in Vanuatu has grown deeper and deeper.

This year, we learned that the aid money that provided the wages for the eight trained workers employed by VPBP was cut completely by the Australian Government. Aussie Aid is now at its lowest since World War 2!

Because of this, a number of Australian churches, including ours, have been invited to provide a month’s income for all eight specialists. This is only $5,000 Australian dollars! LFC Church Council was delighted to provide one months’s support on behalf of it’s members. It is hoped that new glasses making machinery will make this health service self-sufficient within 6-8 months.

To date, another church has provided another month. We will keep you informed about developments.

You can find out more about the Vanuatu Prevention of Blindness Program here!