You're not alone.
Many of us are feeling disconnected and disoriented, asking, “When are things going to get back to “Normal”? The short answer is, “Never”. The “Before-Times” no longer exist. There is nothing there to go back to. But don’t lose heart.
People may be calling these days “unprecedented times”, but that’s not true. They may be unprecedented times to us, for sure. No one alive today has ever lived through a pandemic like this. But global calamities like pandemics and plagues have ravaged the world with disturbing regularity. And people got through those times. (We’re still here, aren’t we?) How did they do that?
One clue may be found in the Harvard Study of Adult Men, which has been tracking the lives of 724 men since 1938. Here is one of their key findings:
The Harvard Study has found a strong association between happiness and close relationships like spouses, family, friends, and social circles. “Personal connection creates mental and emotional stimulation, which are automatic mood boosters, while isolation is a mood buster,” says Dr. Robert Waldinger, the project’s current Director*
Northside Community Church is a community of followers of Jesus Christ, committed to maintaining close and healthy relationships. Jesus called us to unity and mutual support. It was his hope that his followers would be known foremost by our love for each other and the care we extend to our neighbours, including you.
We are following provincial health directives, so we are not meeting in-person at our usual large gatherings, but we continue to meet online on Sunday mornings (Send a note to info@wearenorthside.com if you’d like to know more.) We also meet in smaller Community Groups during the week to maintain our closeness and to support each other as we navigate our way through this crisis.
If you’d like to know more about our community, the Person we follow – Jesus Christ, or how we might help you, just send a note to info@wearenorthside.com and we’ll be in touch.
To the members of Northside Community Church:
Our Response to COVID-19
We are meeting every Sunday via Zoom. You are invited to join us. Please email info@wearenorthside.com for the log-in information.
July 7, 2020
All our services and gatherings continue to be suspended until further notice.
Although we won’t be meeting in our church building, WE are the church. Let’s carry on.
- Be the loving hand of God to those around you.
- Reach out and stay in touch with each other.
- Text or call others in the Northside Community as well as your friends and neighbors.
- Remind people that they are missed and loved.
- If you find that there is an urgent need, try to meet that need, and if you can’t do so on your own, we will try to care for that need together. God has blessed us abundantly. Let us look for opportunities to bless others out of that abundance.
- Please also pray for our missionaries.
Please make use of our new YouTube Channel with recorded messages. You can also catch up on previous sermons here.
If you are not receiving the regular email updates from Pastor Mark, please email info@wearenorthside.com and we will add you to the mailing list.
Please allow us to pray for you and your specific needs. You can submit a prayer request here.
Our office hours have been reduced to: Mo - Th from 8:30 am to 11:30 am.
If you wish to drop off your giving envelope after these hours, please call ahead, or you can mail it, if online payment is not an option for you.
Please follow the advice of our health professionals in physical distancing, and personal care, and stay home.
It is important that we stay in touch with one another. If you are not part of a Community Group, and/or if we can help fill a need, please reach out, by phone, or email community@wearenorthside.com.
Remember, it was for times like this, that we were put here,
Northside Community Church Leadership