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Welcome to the website of
​Brookdale Church in Ilfracombe. 

Sunday Morning

On Sunday morning at 10.30am we will be meeting in person and live on YouTube.  We'd love to see you in person, or alternatively, you can watch it HERE

​Bible reading series ​
We have switched to the New Testament where we are now looking at Acts. We are encouraging you to read a chapter of this book every Monday and Friday, and in the morning we will send out some questions for you to think about. We will also have a meeting on Zoom at 8pm every Monday and Friday evening to discuss these questions. We have had a really great time discussing God's Word together in the last 6 months, and as restrictions continue, even if you haven't joined us for previous books, we would love to see you if you can join us.
Please email Jonathan at jonathansmith.brookdale@live.co.uk for the connection details or see this weeks newsletter.

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Church Reopening

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It is great that we are able to meet, and although the services aren't quite back to normal, it has been wonderful for some of us to be meeting in person again. We know that not everyone is able to or ready to meet back in the building yet, but if you are, we would really love to see you. It's been wonderful in the last couple of weeks to be joined by people both in the building and on YouTube, and we trust that these services will be a continued blessing to people. If you are attending with children, please bring the above activity sheets and colouring pens/pencils if possible (we can help out if you're not able to provide these), and if you would like a table to rest the activity sheets on, please ask one of the stewards. Please also note the list following on the next page:

● Face coverings must be worn at all times in the building. This is a legal requirement. For anyone who has a valid reason to not wear face coverings as outlined by the government, this of course is not necessary. And for those who are involved with leading the service, face coverings are not required whilst undertaking their duties. Apart from this, face coverings are essential.
● We are not allowed to mingle! One of the wonderful parts of meeting together in normal circumstances is that we can socially interact, contributing to us meaningfully being part of each others’ lives as we seek to encourage one another and spur each other on to good works. Unfortunately, it is a legal requirement that there is no interaction between groups. Please respect this, especially whilst on church property, which includes outside and in the car park.
● We are not allowed to have congregational singing. A group at the front is able to lead worship in song, but no singing within the congregation. Of course, after the service, you can go home, play the video on YouTube and sing along to your heart’s content!
● We must observe social distancing. Whilst on the church premises, including in the car park and queuing up to enter (if required), we need to keep a 2 metre gap as much as possible. This includes the seating, which is limited, so...
● We have provisions for an overflow. The capacity of the main church depends on the number within different households who are able to sit together. (Support bubbles can count as one household.) If the capacity is reached, we will have seating available in the lounge, and a screen to watch the service on. If the capacity for both areas is reached, we may have to ask you to return home and watch on YouTube. However, we do not anticipate this being likely, and the overflow may not be needed either. Either way, it would be best to arrive in plenty of time!
● Doors will open at 10.10am. We have been advised that the congregation should not be in the building for longer than necessary. By opening the doors at 10.10am, we will still hopefully have time to find seats for everyone, whilst allowing arrivals to naturally be somewhat staggered. Please note, this may change as we will be learning as we do it.
● The stewards are in charge of seating! We will have a number of stewards who will allocate seats for those attending, rearrange chairs to fit groups if necessary. They will also decide if or when the overflow seating will be needed. Stewards will also be in charge of helping people leave safely, so please follow their lead.
● Please arrive in your family group. Households (including genuine support bubbles) can sit together without being socially distanced from each other. To make life easier for the stewards, please arrive together.
● COVID Secure protocols need to be followed. As well as wearing face coverings and observing social distancing, please clean your hands when coming into the building and when leaving using the hand gel dispensers provided. A steward will be taking names (and phone numbers if we don’t already know them) for track and trace purposes, which will be destroyed after 21 days. There will be a one way system in place which includes everyone entering the building through the big wooden double doors. For anyone going to the overflow area, there will be additional instructions to maintain safe distance. ● The main children's teaching is in the afternoon on Zoom. All ages are very much welcome at this service, but at the moment, we are not having separate groups to teach the children on a Sunday morning. Instead we are providing activity sheets that can be used, especially during the sermon (see above). As usual, there will be TGI Sunday and Bible Class on Zoom in the afternoon. Please ask if you need more information about these.
● Some people are advised not to attend. We are making every effort for the church building to be as safe as possible, but as mentioned above, those in more vulnerable groups, such as those who are 70 and older, are encouraged to not attend. Anyone who has COVID 19 or is showing symptoms must not attend.
​● There won’t be an offering. Due to the various restrictions, we would like to encourage people to continue giving through online means, such as through standing order or the PayPal facility on the website. Financial giving is a significant part of our worship, and our gifts are so valuable to the ongoing ministry of our church, and to other ministries we support. We know that giving online is difficult for some people, so although there will be no offering as such, there will somewhere you can give cash gifts if needed.

Whilst these restrictions may seem quite overbearing, other church leaders have shared how quickly these restrictions start to feel more normal. And whilst this isn’t the full expression of gathering together which I hope we will eventually get back to, it is nevertheless a precious opportunity to be together, where possible, encouraging each other by being present together in what is the heart of the local church.  
Please look around the site to learn more about us. 
​If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. 

​Who we are...

Brookdale Church is a local group of Christians – that is to say, ordinary people who have put their trust in Jesus and what he did on the cross.  We think God is amazing, and love to come together to Worship Him and hear from His Word, the Bible.  We also are keen to share with other people how great God is, and let people know the good news that anyone who puts their trust in Jesus* will be forgiven and will be friends with God.
* To find out more about what it means to trust in Jesus, take a look at the ‘What we believe’ page, or take a look at this presentation on another website:  Two ways to live
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​Our Pastor

Jonathan is married to Lorraine, and they have 4 children.  He enjoys music, sport and talking about almost anything!

Our Pastoral Care worker & Biblical Counsellor

Miriam studied biblical counselling with the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation from 2011 to 2015 completing the Foundations of Biblical Counselling, Topics in Biblical Counseling and Counseling Skills and practice certificates.
In 2016 Miriam was accepted onto Biblical Counselling UK’s 2 year Church Based Intern Scheme and began working at Brookdale to develop a biblical counselling approach to ministry.
Following the internship Brookdale employed her full time  to continue the work as a pastoral care worker and biblical counsellor. 

https://www.ccef.org/school/
https://www.biblicalcounselling.org.uk/intern-scheme/
Find us on:
Brookdale Church, Brookdale Avenue, Ilfracombe, Devon
EX34 8DB
01271 863411
​​jonathansmith.brookdale@live.co.uk