Letter from the church council

ACC is opening its doors again for worship on October 4th.

There are guidelines for health protection to be followed. Please read the Letter from Council carefully, and support each other in following those guidelines.

God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and truth. John 4: 24
ACC is opening its doors to gather again for worship on October 4th.

However, it will not be like it was before; our communal worship will be different. Being different means that we lose the comfort and reassurance of the familiar; but also gives us an opportunity to explore other ways of ‘worshiping in spirit and truth’; of seeing Christ in others, even if behind a mask; of having fellowship even if socially distanced; of finding the poetry and relevance of hymns, even when not singing them.

As an international and diverse faith community, we must be intentional and deliberate in how we gather again, following guidelines for protecting the health of all. The basic premise of all these guidelines is to limit the spread of any potential illness, which simply put, means wearing a mask, keeping social distance, washing hands and limiting the length of interaction.

Our ACC worship will be live-streamed on Zoom, whereby people can join in with the service from their homes. 

The Zoom on-line option is being done for a variety of reasons. With social distancing inside the church, space and chairs will be limited. Some may prefer to remain within their own limited family/friends groups. Elders and others who are highrisk for covid-19 or live with people at higher risk for this illness are encouraged and advised to use the Zoom option.

If you or a family member are unwell or have traveled within the past 2 weeks, please remain at home and join in by Zoom.

Social distancing

  • The chairs will be spaced at 1.5 meters in the church. Family households (only) may move their chairs closer together, but please be considerate and ensure spacing is kept from others
  • Once each chair is used, no more people will be allowed into the church. That does mean that some may have to be turned away, and we thank you for your understanding with this.
  • The sanctuary and courtyard areas are all designated ‘social distance areas of 1.5 meters’. How far is that? Think of 2 people stretching out an arm towards each other – their fingers should not touch. If you feel comfortable getting closer to other people, and they feel the same, please do so outside of the ACC area.

Handwashing stations will be outside of the sanctuary, along with hand sanitizer. Please wash or sanitize your hands before entering and upon leaving.

Masks – everyone entering the church is required to wear a mask. Please bring your own.

Children – Sunday School or Crèche is not being offered at this time. Children will need to be accompanied by an adult, and will have to remain in church with a parent or guardian (no playing outside). Please carefully consider if your child/children can comfortably sit through a whole service.

The worship service

  • Service length will be limited to one hour or less
  • Please bring your own Bible if wish to read as well as listen to the word.
  • There will not be Holy Communion
  • There will be music, but limited and only the music leader can sing. Congregational members can hum along or speak the words.
  • Offerings will be collected – but in a dropbox. Please consider alternate ways of giving, either through MPESA, direct bank deposit, or giving in lump sums rather than on a weekly basis.
  • No tea or coffee will be served after worship and please bring your own drinking water

May we continue to love one another by doing all we can to protect the health of others. May we give thanks that new circumstances can bring us closer to God. May we pray for each other as a faith community. May we continue to worship God in spirit and truth, whether at home or in our building.
– Susan Simonson

ACC Prayer Chain

ACC PRAYER CHAIN
If you have a prayer request and would like members of our community to support you in prayer, contact the four key persons – if possible by SMS- and they will inform the  others from the prayer chain.
Erwin Kinsey 0754 480 184
Margaret Kenyi 0754 090 078
Susan Simonson 0754 266 559
Stella Karumuna 0754 281 337

News & Events

September 5 – Sound and tech training, 3 pm
September 12 – Usher training, sound and tech training, 3 pm
September 20 – Live Zoom worship, 10:30 am
September 27 – Live Zoom worship, 10:30 am
October 4 – Live In-person worship begins with Zoom option also

October 25 – Harvest Festival

*Anyone wishing to be baptized or having their child baptized needs to complete the application forms. Please see Vivi in the church office for an application form

Not sure of our programs and activities? Want to be involved in some way, but not sure how? Want to receive Glad Tidings by email? Have a general question about Arusha that an old-timer may have the answer to?
Please visit our ACC website www.acc.or.tz for more info of send an email to our administrator at arushacommunitychurch.office@gmail.com

 

Worship Committee Announcements

In-person worship will begin again on Sunday, October 4. We are getting ready and we ask you to get ready too!

We need to prepare our ushers for new worship guidelines. And we need new ushers! Mature, sensible, welcoming ushers can offer clear guidance to people coming for worship. Our ushers will play a very important role in making sure everyone is keeping everyone else safe. We will hold a training for all Ushers on Saturday, September 12. If you are interested in joining the usher team, please contact Eric Mbelle at +255 677 662 827.

Our sound and tech team will also meet for training in early September. We will need to learn to use Zoom for our services, including projection and sound on Zoom, as well as in the sanctuary. Please contact Philip Mvungi (+255 739 109 866) to join this training.

We will have only a limited number of chairs available in the sanctuary to follow appropriate social distance guidelines. We
encourage anyone with risk factors to stay at home and participate in worship by Zoom.

To prepare yourself: Download Zoom on a computer or mobile device by going to zoom.us Click on these links to watch a tutorial on how to download the Zoom App and how to join a meeting from a computer or a phone.

Joining on mobile phone:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8JaUEORjSo
Joining on computer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMUxzrgZvZQ

To help all of us get used to this new way of being together in worship, our Sunday services on September 20 and September 27 will be led from the sanctuary on Zoom. Please join us online at 10:30 am EAT. A link for the service will be sent by email the week before each service.

Perspectives on the World Christian Movement

Perspectives (see flyer above) is a dynamic and challenging study course exploring the world’s Christian movement.

Participants of this course normally experience a deepening of faith and commitment to Mission to the unreached.
To learn more about the course please visit the website https://www.perspectives.org/

Duration: 15 weeks
Fee: Kshs. 6000 or Tzs. 132,000
For those in Tanzania, please contact Erwin Kinsey or Nasieku Mollel (Church Administrator) for more info on how to register.

TITHES AND OFFERINGS AT ACC

Thank you to the many who continue to give your tithes and offerings to ACC. Please know that these offerings are needed, appreciated and are used to help many within the community.

ACC BANK DETAILS:
For anyone who wishes or needs to transfer funds via bank deposit to ACC please find the following details here:

EXIM BANK
TSH. ACCOUNT NUMBER 00 300 23 252
USD ACCOUNT NUMBER 578 067 0116

ACC MOBILE MONEY ACCOUNT DETAILS:
For anyone who wishes or needs to transfer funds via mobile money to ACC please find the following details here:
M-PESA DEPOSIT
NUMBER: +255 755 992 394

NAME:  in the name of Nasieku Mollel (ACC Administrator’s last name)

September 2020 Service Schedule

  September 6 September 13 September 20 September 27
Church Calendar Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost Sixteen Sunday after Pentecost Seventeen Sunday after Pentecost
Service Type Communion Service  Morning Service Communion Service (Zoom service)

 Family Service

(Zoom service)

Service Leader  John Kraft Christy Rowe- Miller Michael Murray Erwin Kinsey
Preacher Cynthia Holder Rich Daudi Mseemaa Wendy Wilmore Rebecca Mosley
Scripture Readings

Ezekiel 33:7-11

Psalm 119:33-40

Romans 13:8-14

Matthew 18:15-20

Genesis 50:15-21

Psalm 103:(1-7), 8-13

Romans 14:1-12

Matthew 18:21-35

Jonah 3:10-4:11

Psalm 145:1-8

Philippians 1:21-30

Matthew 20:1-16

Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32

Psalm 25:1-9

Philippians 2:1-13

Matthew 21:23-32

 

Do you have a word of encouragement, favorite bible verse, inspiring or even funny story, song, poem or picture that you would like share with us ACC? If so, we would love to hear from you! Please send on to:
arushacommunitychurch.office@gmail.com