COVID-19 Updates

16 December 21

Following yesterday’s announcement, with the removal of mandatory vaccination requirement for places of worship, we’d love to welcome everyone to our in person church services!

Join Us for Church This Weekend

If you are unable to attend the service in-person, please join us online, Sundays 9am
6 August 21

“So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:14-16

We've been here before; we can do it again by God's grace. We’re praying for you - that the presence and peace of the Holy Spirit be your encouragement, strength, and source of joy in every moment.

We will be gathering online this weekend and we are looking forward to connecting with you and hearing an inspiring message from our Senior Minister, Andrew Chisholm.

Online Service Times Saturday 5pm | Sunday 9am Online Church | Facebook | YouTube KIDS Church will continue online via Kids Connect & Kids Zoom There will not be any in-person services at any of our congregations.

Please note the changes to our scheduled in-person events over the next seven days:

• Epic Youth Life Groups - Online
• Adult Life Groups - Online. Check details with your leaders.
• Mandarin and Cantonese services - Online. Your pastor will be touch with details.
• Motherhood (Knox) - Online

Our church offices will be closed but we encourage you to reach out to your Life Group leaders or pastors or call 9871 8300 or email us if you need support of any kind. Please also check in with those in your local area who might need support.

CityLife Church 29 July 21

With the easing of restrictions, we are so excited to be able to meet in person this weekend at our Casey, Manningham and Whittlesea locations! There will not be any in-person services at Knox.

In line with government guidelines, our capacity will be reduced, please register using the below links to reserve your seat to attend a service.

Onsite Services - Reserve Now
Upon arrival, please check in via the "Service Victoria" QR code that will be available at the door
Casey | Manningham | Whittlesea

Online Service Times - Saturday 5pm + Sunday 9am
If you are unable to attend the service onsite, please join us online
Online Church | Facebook | YouTube Updated 16 Jul 21

Encouragement from Andrew Chisholm + changes to our scheduled in-person events

As a response to the 5 day lockdown announced yesterday, we will be gathering online this weekend and we are looking forward to connecting with you and hearing a special message from our guest speaker Michael Frost.

Please take a moment to hear an update and encouragement from Andrew.



Please note the changes to our scheduled in-person events over the next five days:

• Inspire Conference - Postponed to 20/21 August.
• Adult Life Groups - Online. Check details with your leaders.
• Mandarin and Cantonese services - Online. Your pastor will be touch with details.
• Seniors Christmas in July celebrations – Postponed.
• R.U.3B? - Men's Course – Postponed.

Our church offices will be closed but we encourage you to reach out to your Life Group leaders or pastors or call (9871 8300) or email us if you need support of any kind. Let’s continue to keep each other in prayer daily and please also check in with those in your local area who might need support. Updated 8 Jul 21

Good news, with the easing of restrictions announced this week, you no longer need to pre-register online to attend a weekend service.

Upon arrival, please check in via the "Service Victoria" QR code that will be available at the door and our team is available to help if you have any difficulties. Masks will continue to be required indoors. Can’t wait to see you soon! Updated 23 Jun 21

With the easing of restrictions, we are so excited to be able to meet in person this weekend at our Casey, Knox and Whittlesea locations!

In line with government guidelines, our capacity will be reduced, please register using the below links to reserve your seat to attend a service.

Onsite Services - Reserve Now
Upon arrival, please check in via the "Service Victoria" QR code that will be available at the door

Online Service Times - Saturday 5pm + Sunday 9am
If you are unable to attend the service onsite, please join us online
Updated 19 May 21

Attend a Weekend Service: Pre-registration and Check-in Process

The Victorian Government has announced some changes to COVIDSafe density limits and check-in requirements from Friday 28 May.

As a result of this you  no longer need to pre-register online to attend a weekend service .

We are however still  required to check in all people in our buildings  to help with quick contact tracing in the event of coronavirus (COVID-19) exposure.

 You must check in on arrival  and our team is available to help if you have any difficulties.


How to Check-in ?


Keeping our community safe is our shared responsibility. We will be keeping all our shared spaces, safe, spacious and sanitised. If you are feeling unwell or having flu-like symptoms, please get tested, stay home and join our services online. Please also keep a face mask handy at all times.

If you have any questions, please email us info@citylife.church or contact your local CityLife office. Updated 3 Dec 20

The Path Back to Face-to-Face Meetings

Over the next two months, we will be taking progressive steps to move back to face-to-face meetings. We are excited about this, but we are also mindful that we need to do this with care. In December, we will be bringing ministry team members back to our Knox site to test out our COVID safe procedures for registration, physical distancing, people flow and cleaning. Based on what we learn from this experience, we will also progressively bring team members back to other sites over December and January.

By the end of January, we plan to have all congregations worshipping at their local site with a COVID safe management plan that will involve people pre-registering for church services. Online broadcasting of services will continue to enable those not attending a face-to-face service to participate in their homes.

Here’s a brief snapshot of the re-opening plans across all our sites and ministries, in line with public health advice. Re-opening schedules may vary, and your ministry leaders and lead pastors will keep you updated on specific plans. Please make sure you are subscribed to our newsletters and follow us on social media.

Casey

Face-to-Face gatherings from 23 January with KIDS church resuming on 30 January. A mix of ministry-based gatherings and outdoor social events from December.

Knox

Face-to-Face gatherings from 2 January with KIDS church resuming on Sundays from 10 January.

Our office will be open from 7 December. The café is also open, check details on their Facebook page.

Manningham

Face-to-Face gatherings from 17 January, with KIDS church resuming on 7 February.

Whittlesea

Scaled back services from 6 December. Return to regular Sunday service from 3 January, with KIDS church resuming on 31 January.

Life Groups

Life Groups can now meet physically, virtually, or a combination of both subject to the comfort levels of the group members, the restrictions in place and the guidelines issued to Leaders.

When we meet face-to-face, let’s all take the necessary hygiene precautions. We appreciate your prayers for wisdom (and patience!) during this important transition time.

One of the key takeaways from the pandemic, is that we are the church, wherever we are placed. We encourage you to continue to reach out to your neighbours and be a blessing to those around you, particularly those who are isolated and lonely, and those facing economic challenges.

As always, if you need support of any kind, please call 9871 8300 or email us.

Watch the update announcement from Andrew Chisholm here.

Updated 9 July 20

Many of us will be affected by the return to Stage 3 Stay at Home restrictions in one way or another. We encourage you to reach out to your Life Group leaders or pastors or call (9871 8300) or email us if you need support of any kind. We don’t want anyone to feel alone or isolated at this time.

Our weekend services will continue online and may look slightly different to comply with the new restrictions. All our ministries, including Life Groups will continue to meet online to keep people connected.

Please take a few moments to watch this encouragement from Andrew.

Updated 27 March 11am 20

As of last weekend, our church services and ministry events are all online. Our weekend service will be streamed on citylife.church/online, YouTube and Facebook at the following times: Saturday 4pm & 6pm | Sunday 9am & 11am.

Our church offices are only open to staff who are not able to work at home. We held our first staff meeting completely online and even managed corporate prayer and worship together!

All our ministries are putting in place alternate options to move ministry events online and keep people connected.

Let’s continue to gather as Life Groups online. While we can’t gather in buildings or homes as congregations or groups we can still give hope, bring encouragement and show love to the people around us online in so many creative ways. We don’t want anyone to feel alone or isolated at this time.

Psalm 91 reminds us that God is in control of our lives and that he cares deeply about each of us. We are praying for His protection over you and your loved ones. Let's keep each other in prayer daily and be in prayer for those affected by COVID-19: healing for those quarantined or infected with the virus, protection over frontline healthcare team members, wisdom for all those in the various authorities handing the situation.

Needs of Community

Thank you to those who have given so generously to our pantry last week!

With the circumstances surrounding COVID-19, we are seeing an increased need from those who are disadvantaged and vulnerable. Help us continue to serve our community.

We would love donations of the following items:

• jam and peanut butter
• pasta sauce
• small cereal
• large tuna canned
• 1 litre long life milk
• 1kg rice
• deodorant and dishwashing detergent

Thank you for your generosity and support! Updated 20 March 3pm 20

Please take a few moments to watch this message from Andrew as he shares from his heart about our response to the pandemic and prays for us.

Updated 18 March 7pm

As of this weekend, our church services will be online. We will not be holding services in any of our venues due to the restriction on meetings of more than 100 people announced by the Federal government on 18th March. Our service will be streamed on citylife.church/online, YouTube and Facebook at the following times: Saturday 4pm & 6pm | Sunday 9am & 11am.

Our church offices remain open (albeit with reduced staff presence) and we are here to support you throughout the week.

All our ministries are putting in place alternate options to continue to keep people connected and move ministry online. Further information will be forthcoming from ministries.

Let’s continue to gather as Life Groups, as we are able to physically, virtually (via Zoom or Skype, etc.), or a combination of both. When we meet physically let’s all take the necessary hygiene precautions.

Whilst we focus on some of the practical responses, let’s also bear in mind that this is such an important opportunity for us to give hope, bring encouragement and show love to the people around us. We don’t want anyone to feel alone or isolated at this time. Psalm 91 reminds us that God is in control of our lives and that he cares deeply about each of us. We are praying for His protection over you and your loved ones. Let's keep each other in prayer daily and be in prayer for those affected by COVID-19: healing for those quarantined or infected with the virus, protection over frontline healthcare team members, wisdom for all those in the various authorities handing the situation.

Please keep an eye on your emails, follow us on social media or email us info@citylife.church if you have any questions.

Needs of Community

Consider also giving today to CityLife Community Care’s open pantry. With the circumstances surrounding COVID-19, we are seeing an increased need from those who are disadvantaged and vulnerable. Help us continue to serve our community.

• jam and peanut butter
• pasta sauce
• small cereal
• large tuna canned
• 1 litre long life milk
• 1kg rice
• deodorant and dishwashing detergent

Thank you for your generosity and support! Updated 18 March 7pm - Impacted Events

Owing to the impact of Covid19, the following event wills no longer be taking place:

• Thu 19th March - Mike Connell, Battleground of Prayer @ 7:30pm
  New regulations governing international travellers arrival in Australia

Knox
Owing to a higher risk category the following events are also cancelled until further notice:

• 20th March - Jesus the Game Changer
• 26th March – Seniors Morning tea
• 27th March, 3rd April and 10th April - Jesus the Game Changer
• 21st April - Seniors Monthly meeting
• 30th April – Seniors Morning tea
• 1st , 8th, 15th, 22nd & 29th May – Jesus the Game Changer
• 7th April, 5th May – Seniors Coffee & Chat
• 19th May - Seniors Monthly meeting

Casey

• 4 April Casey Women’s event
• 13th April – Casey Seniors
• 8th April Casey Seniors
• 2nd May Solo Mums High Tea

Updated 13 March 5pm

We are monitoring and reviewing the latest developments on COVID-19 and the impact on our communities and how we run our church services. All our church services and programs will continue to run as normal, but do expect some changes in the way we do communion, offering and hospitality to protect the health and safety of all. Watch this update from our Senior Minister, Andrew Chisholm.

Also at our Knox site we will be limiting our attendance to 500 people at all services commencing March 21/22. This is in response to the government's announcement today restricting public meetings to less than 500 people from Monday, March 16. For those not attending in person, we will be providing live-streamed worship services from March 21/22. Information on our live-streamed services will be available on this page next week. At Manningham, Casey, and Whittlesea sites and our Chinese services, our services will continue as normal as our service attendances are under 500.


Let's pray for people affected by COVID-19: healing for those quarantined or infected with the virus, protection over frontline healthcare team members, wisdom for all those in the various authorities handing the situation, and the church communities to be a light and blessing to all.

We encourage you to continue to attend our regular church services and programs. Please take care of your health and protect others by practicing good personal hygiene.

Please stay home if you:

• are unwell or experiencing flu-like symptoms.
• have recently returned from an affected area.
• have been in contact with an infected person.

Stay up to date with the latest information from Victoria's Department of Health and Human Services here.