Ash Wednesday falls on Wednesday 2nd March this year.
There will be a service of Holy Communion (by extension) and Imposition of Ashes at 10:30am on that day.
The Thursday morning Holy Communion on 3rd March is CANCELLED.
Blog Archives
Rules for the Governance and Procedures (the Constitution) for St. Andrew’s Church, Kyrenia.
Rules for the Governance and Procedures (the Constitution) for St. Andrew’s Church, Kyrenia.
An Extraordinary Church Meeting was held on Sunday 13th February 2022 at 11:30am following the morning service in St. Andrew’s church.
This meeting was called to ratify the amended Rules for the Governance and Procedures (the Constitution) for St. Andrew’s Church, Kyrenia.
A copy is available by clicking here
At the ECM the new Rules for the Governance and Procedures (the Constitution) of St. Andrew’s (2022) were accepted and passed.
Covid restriction on Places of Worship from Monday 12th July 2021 – amendment 2
In line with the latest decisions of the Ministry of Health of the TRNC from Monday 12th July 2021 it is required that until further notice anyone entering St. Andrew’s Church to attend a worship service must first:
EITHER
show proof of double vaccination (note that there must a minimum of 14 days since the second jab and a maximum of 6 months since it was administered)
OR
show evidence of a negative PCR/Antigen test taken within the previous 72 hours
Documents will be checked at the church entrance so it is important to arrive well before the service starts at 10am.
Antigen tests can be made free of charge in laboratories authorized by the Ministry of Health by clicking here: https://basvuru.lab.gov.ct.tr/?signup=true
By following the directions given by the system, laboratory guidance will be made for the necessary antigen test.
If required the documents of the rapid antigen test results can be obtained from http://covid-19.gov.ct.tr by entering the barcode number, identity or passport information and the document of the report can be obtained as a PDF.
AMENDED – Covid restrictions for entry to St. Andrew’s
It would appear from the latest communication from the government’s Communicable Diseases High Committee dated 12/04/22 that “Places of Worship” have been removed from the locations where Adapass checks must be made before entry.
In addition, the regulation stipulating the maximum floor area of premises which may be used has been removed, together with the requirement for social distancing. Mask, hygiene and disinfection rules should still be adhered to.
This means that we can replace the seats which were removed from the church and begin the slow process of getting back to some sort of normality.
However, we will still continue to administer Holy Communion in the way we have been doing lately: people are asked to come to the front of the church individually to receive the communion wafer which they should then dip in the wine (intinct) if they wish to receive in both kinds.
* Please see https://saglik.gov.ct.tr/TRAVEL-RULES for the latest information regarding criteria for travel and entry to venues..
Services cancelled once again because of COVID restrictions
Unfortunately due to the increasing number of Covid cases and the tightening up of Government regulations it has been decided to cancel church services in St. Andrew’s for the foreseeable future.
Please continue to consult the St Andrew’s Church website for updates.
Giving to St. Andrew’s
These have been difficult days, for so many very sad days and they continue. We pray for all those who are serving communities in the many countries around the world where the Corona Virus is striking people down and for family and friends of people undergoing treatment. We especially remember front-line workers who have put themselves in danger and all those who have died, may they Rest in Peace.
Spring and early summer is a beautiful time in Cyprus and many Friends, regular visitors and tourists will have missed joining in fellowship at St Andrew’s Church both at Easter and the weeks that followed. The lockdown in North Cyprus was strict, rigorously enforced but very effective. By the beginning of July there had been no cases of Covid-19 for two months, but everyone remains cautions of a second wave. So, on 5th July the doors of the Church opened with great caution for the first time since the Thursday service on 12th March. A restricted gathering joined a said Holy Communion service with no singing and seating spaced to ensure Social Distancing. The days ahead are unknown but we pray they will continue to bring freedom and the possibility of travel to and from the island. The deepest wish of us all, is that the day will soon be here when we can come together with freedom in our beautiful church once again to worship our Lord in fellowship and song.
Each week the service sheet is posted on the Church web site and there are details of how to receive the Thursday Praise service prepared by Steve Bishop and sent out with encouragement for you to sing to music on Youtube.
Of course, the closure of Church and the absence of visitors has left St Andrew’s without the normal generous Easter and spring collections. If you wish to make a donation from wherever you are to support the work of the Church, full details are available on the website giving page. Details of how to make payments to the Church UK Charity Bank account by Cheque or bank transfer are listed. Regular monthly Standing Order donations enable budgeting of church finances. Donations can be gift aided. Contact the gift aid officer at giftaid@standrewskyrenia.org
We have recently introduced a new simple method of small SMS donation to St Andrew’s for UK mobile phone users, similar to that used for appeals on TV in UK.
Text KYRENIA to 70085 to donate £10 to St Andrew’s
With a UK mobile phone in the UK, or anywhere you are able to roam with your UK mobile including North Cyprus, Text KYRENIA to 70085 to donate £10. Texts cost £10 donation plus the cost of one standard rate message. The charge will appear on your telephone bill. Repeat donations are possible to a maximum of £30 with up to three messages in one day.
SMS donations can also be Gift Aided.
A reply message acknowledging and thanking you for the donation will be received inviting you, if appropriate and you are able, to send us your Gift Aid details to enable St Andrew’s to make the GA application on your behalf.
You may ask what we do with your financial donations. In addition to keeping the church alive, in recent years the St Andrew’s community have made generous donations to local charities including Tulips, The Women’s Refuge, The Sarioğlu Foundation, Karakum Special Needs School and internationally to The World Day of Prayer.
Thank you so much for your support.
Procedures for the use of St. Andrew’s Church during the Covid 19 Crisis
Ash Wednesday – the beginning of Lent
To mark the beginning of Lent there will be Holy Communion with imposition of Ashes on Wednesday 6th March at 10 am.
Lent can, if we let it, summons us from the safe harbours of our lives into a wide expanse of existence. Part of the point of deciding to lay things down, or to take things up (depending on the decisions we make as Lent begins) is that in doing so we make our lives unfamiliar, even if only in a small way. We check ourselves as we reach for those familiar safety devices like chocolate or alcohol and challenge ourselves into a less familiar response. What we “do” for Lent is far less important than who we become. Who are you becoming this Lent? What have you learnt about yourself and about God that is transforming you? What wilderness experience do you need to encounter for God to transform you, our church and our world?
This year at St. Andrew’s we invite you to experience Lent not as a season of restriction but one of wide open spaciousness in which to learn new lessons, to grow in faith and to give God the chance to meet us in new ways.
In Lent we remember especially the depth of despair laid out before Jesus and he still chose to go. His whole life and ministry was summed up by the choices he made in the wilderness when tempted by the devil. He could have chosen the easy way but instead he chose the hard way. He could have chosen the way that brought personal honour and praise but instead he chose the way brought love and compassion. He could have chosen grandeur and comfort, but instead chose to live alongside those who had nothing. He saw and knew exactly what he chose but he still said: “Let me go there”.
Come with us and Jesus as we take time to enter the wilderness and hear the challenge to come and follow him. The question is, whether we, like him, can echo those words: “Let me go there”.
Our Lent Study Course this year, which started early, takes place each Thursday from 14th February to 11th April, following the mid-week Holy Communion service at 10.00 am and is a study of the Epistle of James. Click here for more details.
Also for Lent the beautiful evening service of Compline will be said each Sunday evening at 6:00pm in the church. Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, and certain other Christian denominations with liturgical traditions all prescribe Compline, which is a contemplative service that emphasizes spiritual peace.
