Service Updates. «

Mar '20

A Mental Health Moment!

Posted on Mar 22, 2020 in Newsletter, Updates | 4450

Mar '20

Safeguarding our mental health is important and must not be overlooked.

Virtual platforms if used conscientiously, can support a sense of “connectedness” in the midst of restrictions and recommended measures to “Flatten the Curve”.

In the midst of this pandemic, please make sure you are taking care of yourself and your family, virtual support can also be offered to friends and neighbors as the opportunity presents.

We are inundated with social media updates, reports and announcements all of which have the capacity to impact how we manage the information received and our response potential.

For some, the use of social media can induce more harm than good subsequently posing risk to the stability of our mental health state.

Please take approximately 4 minutes to watch 2 AHS Mental Wellness Moment video clips, in which Dr. Mitchell; AHS Provincial Medical Director of Addiction and Mental Health talks about maintaining a daily schedule and being intentional about social media management as protective strategies for our mental health.

Importance of Scheduling and Planning:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKOeL8KJkJM&feature=emb_rel_end

Social Media Management:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqH4wNEvtkA

Hospital Capacity

AHS is taking measures to increase inpatient capacity at hospitals across the province.

There is projection of individuals whose symptom trajectory will warrant inpatient hospitalization for treatment and management.

There are approximately 8,500 acute care beds, it is estimated 2,250 more beds may be needed to manage anticipated cases.

Operating rooms and surgical recovery rooms will be transformed into Intensive Care Units (ICU’s), to further increase capacity, alcoves, patient lounges, hallways and other convertible spaces will be used to provide patient care.

The health care system will be “pressed”, please consider adding ‘AHS health care system employees’ to your prayers as extraordinary actions will pose significant challenge to the multitude of disciplines who are preparing to serve as their scope of practice designates.

Hospital Visitation Restrictions

Should there be need to attend to or visit someone in the hospital, please note the following:

During peak hours, visitors will be screened.
Visitors for critical end of life circumstances will be provided with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) with escort to and from room.
Visits must be PRE-ARRANGED with nursing unit staff, sign in and precautionary measures must be followed, i.e. hand hygiene, donning/doffing PPE as required.
Visitors will be limited to 1-2 people at a time.
If it can be arranged, visitors are highly encouraged to use other methods to be in touch, i.e. phone call, facetime, video calls.
Avoid visitation if feeling unwell and or ill with symptoms inclusive; fever, cough, diarrhea, rash.

Mar '20

Service Update #2

Posted on Mar 19, 2020 in BLOG, Newsletter, Updates | 422

Mar '20

Greetings, Everyone:

We pray that everyone who reads this is doing well during these challenging times.

While the decision to cancel church last week was a difficult one, it proved to be the correct one given new guidelines provided the past several days by the Alberta Government. In light of those guidelines, church-related activities are cancelled until further notice.

However this Sunday, March 22, we encourage you to dial into a church-wide conference call at 11:00am.

Please call the toll free number below: 1 289-351-9943

When promoted, enter the following PIN: 380549555

This is one of the ways we intend to stay connected until regular services can resume. We are also looking at other ways that will allow us to gather as a congregation.

For those with special prayer requests, please email them to:

prayer@rlfcalgary.com where they will be forwarded to the prayer group.

If you have not done so already, please consider downloading the Renewed Life Fellowship app. It will be updated with new information on a regular basis. The app now includes a section with articles that many may find helpful for dealing with this difficult situation including a blog on how to talk to your children about what is happening.

As you read the following Psalm, may you be comforted in knowing that our help comes for the Lord, which made Heaven and Earth.

Psalm 121

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

God Bless you! God willing, we are looking forward to hearing you this coming Sunday at 11.

Mar '20

Helping and Serving Kids During Coronavirus

Posted on Mar 18, 2020 in BLOG, Newsletter, Updates | 375

Mar '20

Life has been interrupted. All around the world, government officials, health care professionals, and industry leaders are trying to discern how best to respond to COVID-19 (coronavirus) and its effects on the needs and wellbeing of our communities. Financial markets are suffering, grocery stores are being overwhelmed, schools are closing, travel is being halted, and individuals, as well as entire neighborhoods, are being quarantined. For many adults, concern, fear, and anxiety are intensifying as the uncertainty this pandemic brings grows and spreads globally.

Our children are witnessing this uncertainty, as well. In many places, school systems are on extended closures and sporting activities are being cancelled. For some children, their parents are also home from work as a precaution, while interactions with their grandparents, a vulnerable demographic to the illness, are being limited. The 24-hour news coverage on their televisions, social media, and online sites is unavoidable. It’s a scary time for kids too.

As parents and ministers to children, there are many ways that we can help navigate our children through this crisis. This is an important moment. We have a significant opportunity and task to guide our kids physically, emotionally, and spiritually. But how do we do this?

Listen to them. Listen to what they have to say. Find out what they know, what they have heard, and how they are feeling.

Talk to them. Respect their fears and don’t minimize them. Correct any false information they have received and answer their questions. If you don’t know the answer, help them find it. Give them the facts.

Pray with them. We can remind our kids that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV). Pray with them asking God to protect them and your family from the virus. Ask Him to give you wisdom. Pray for those impacted by the illness and the researchers and scientists combatting it. Thank God for the hope we have in Christ, our Savior and Healer.

Coach them. According to the World Health Organization, some simple preventative measures can help in the fight of the spread of oncornavirus. These measures include washing our hands thoroughly and protecting others from our coughs. According to the WHO, we should teach kids:

Wash your hands regularly with soap and running water.
Wash your hands after coughing, before/after eating, after visiting the restroom, when hands are dirty, when handling animals.
When coughing or sneezing cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your flexed elbow.
Throw used tissues away immediately after use.
Wash your hands after coughing or sneezing.

Turn the television off. Research from experts like the Center on Media and Child Health reports that exposure to news programming leads to children experiencing fear. Add a global health crisis and doomsday reporting to the programming and it’s a recipe for escalated anxiety for our kids. Yes, we should stay apprised of the latest updates and remain vigilant in combatting the spread of this virus. However, we should limit how much of this news our kids are exposed to.

A note to churches. Hopefully your ministry is already adhering to hygiene policies and sanitizing your ministry spaces. These policies should include frequent handwashing/sanitizing by your staff, disinfecting toys and supplies weekly, and regularly cleaning equipment, surfaces, and walls. A useful cleaning checklist can be found here.

This is an unusual time for us, for our families, and for our children. I believe God will bless our efforts—creatively and inspirationally—as we seek to bring peace, healing, and information to the kid we serve.

https://cogop.org/children/helping-and-serving-kids-during-coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2UvNzVTuqkgIirfhNs2Bqj3ertPhHJnrcc7XsA5sWVQEld9FOzUAIJaKc

Useful Links:

Free At-Home Discipleship Materials
CDC Info Posters for Kids
Infographics and Posters for Coaching
Video: Germ Smart – Wash Your Hands
Song: Wash Me Hands (Orange)
Center for Disease Control (CDC): Updates + FAQs
CDC: Environmental Cleaning and Disinfection Recommendations
Johns Hopkins Medicine: Coronavirus vs. the flu
OSHA: COVID-19 Control and Prevention
World Health Organization (WHO): News + Updates

Mar '20

Service Update

Posted on Mar 14, 2020 in BLOG, Newsletter, Updates | 443

Mar '20

Sunday Service and COVID-19

As you are no doubt aware, the COVID-19 pandemic is dramatically alternating our daily routines and is creating a great deal of anxiety generally.

First, we know that God is in control of all things and admonish everyone to follow Philippians 4:6-7:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let you requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

During this time we encourage everyone to be in prayer one for another.

Pray for God’s protection for His children,
Pray for those who have contracted the virus,
Pray for those families that have lost loved ones,
Pray for our local, provincial and federal leaders that they would act with wisdom
Pray for our health care professionals – for their safety and strength
Pray for a cure and for those people searching for a cure

We also encourage the church community to stay in contact with each other to ensure that we are meeting needs as much as possible.

Second, we must use the wisdom that God has provided us to reduce the risks to ourselves, our families, church and community.

To help stop the spread of germs:

Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve, not your hands.
Remember to wash your hands after coughing or sneezing – wash with soap and water

Keeping hands clean through improved hand hygiene is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others.

Below we have included a helpful website with additional information:

https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/topics/Page16944.aspx

Third, what does this mean for our weekly services? RLF Calgary continues to monitor the situation. We have reviewed federal, provincial and local guidance as well as considered guidance from the International Offices of The Church of God of Prophecy in their recent statement.

After consulting a plurality of the local Board and having received feedback from several other members, the Pastor and the Board have made the very difficult decision to cancel services scheduled for March 15, 2020. We will assess this situation on a weekly basis and will provide updates for subsequent services.

During this difficult time, we are still looking to ensure connection. If services on March 22, 2020 are canceled, we will be arranging a conference call for that date so that we can still come together. Further, our website and Renewed Life Fellowship app will have additional material and links to inspiring content.

As a reminder you can download this app in your Google Play or iPhone app store.

Thank you and God Bless

Service Updates.

Event Time & Location:

About this event:

Safeguarding our mental health is important and must not be overlooked.

Virtual platforms if used conscientiously, can support a sense of “connectedness” in the midst of restrictions and recommended measures to “Flatten the Curve”.

In the midst of this pandemic, please make sure you are taking care of yourself and your family, virtual support can also be offered to friends and neighbors as the opportunity presents.

We are inundated with social media updates, reports and announcements all of which have the capacity to impact how we manage the information received and our response potential.

For some, the use of social media can induce more harm than good subsequently posing risk to the stability of our mental health state.

Importance of Scheduling and Planning:

Social Media Management:

Hospital Capacity

AHS is taking measures to increase inpatient capacity at hospitals across the province.

There is projection of individuals whose symptom trajectory will warrant inpatient hospitalization for treatment and management.

There are approximately 8,500 acute care beds, it is estimated 2,250 more beds may be needed to manage anticipated cases.

Operating rooms and surgical recovery rooms will be transformed into Intensive Care Units (ICU’s), to further increase capacity, alcoves, patient lounges, hallways and other convertible spaces will be used to provide patient care.

The health care system will be “pressed”, please consider adding ‘AHS health care system employees’ to your prayers as extraordinary actions will pose significant challenge to the multitude of disciplines who are preparing to serve as their scope of practice designates.

Hospital Visitation Restrictions

Should there be need to attend to or visit someone in the hospital, please note the following:

Greetings, Everyone:

We pray that everyone who reads this is doing well during these challenging times.

While the decision to cancel church last week was a difficult one, it proved to be the correct one given new guidelines provided the past several days by the Alberta Government. In light of those guidelines, church-related activities are cancelled until further notice.

However this Sunday, March 22, we encourage you to dial into a church-wide conference call at 11:00am.

Please call the toll free number below: 1 289-351-9943

When promoted, enter the following PIN: 380549555

This is one of the ways we intend to stay connected until regular services can resume. We are also looking at other ways that will allow us to gather as a congregation.

For those with special prayer requests, please email them to:

prayer@rlfcalgary.com where they will be forwarded to the prayer group.

As you read the following Psalm, may you be comforted in knowing that our help comes for the Lord, which made Heaven and Earth.

Psalm 121

God Bless you! God willing, we are looking forward to hearing you this coming Sunday at 11.

As parents and ministers to children, there are many ways that we can help navigate our children through this crisis. This is an important moment. We have a significant opportunity and task to guide our kids physically, emotionally, and spiritually. But how do we do this?

Listen to them. Listen to what they have to say. Find out what they know, what they have heard, and how they are feeling.

Talk to them. Respect their fears and don’t minimize them. Correct any false information they have received and answer their questions. If you don’t know the answer, help them find it. Give them the facts.

Coach them. According to the World Health Organization, some simple preventative measures can help in the fight of the spread of oncornavirus. These measures include washing our hands thoroughly and protecting others from our coughs. According to the WHO, we should teach kids:

This is an unusual time for us, for our families, and for our children. I believe God will bless our efforts—creatively and inspirationally—as we seek to bring peace, healing, and information to the kid we serve.

Useful Links:

As you are no doubt aware, the COVID-19 pandemic is dramatically alternating our daily routines and is creating a great deal of anxiety generally.

First, we know that God is in control of all things and admonish everyone to follow Philippians 4:6-7:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let you requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

During this time we encourage everyone to be in prayer one for another.