Well folks, the First Minister recently announced that from 29th June, churches can reopen to allow Sunday worship. This is the next step in the inevitable return towards some form of normality.
Many parishes have welcomed this news with enthusiasm and have announced the steps and precautions that they will employ to facilitate the reopening of their churches.
We fall into the other camp - we will take a while to consider our options and announce our next step in time. We are in the extremely fortunate position in that we can easily operate a drive-in church in our parish carpark. I am certainly enjoying the outdoor experience, and in these difficult times, it has been a blessing to have had so many of our parishioners join us in their cars or online via our streaming option.
There is a lot of extra work involved in bringing a congregation back into the church building again, and as I write this blog, the "2 metre rule" is still in effect - so we would only be allowed to use every third pew, leaving two empty pews between the occupied pews. Even if our Executive agree to a "1 metre rule" such as has been proposed for our schools, we would still only be allowed to use every other pew. The added inconvenience is that only one family may occupy each pew - and that includes single members that arrive too!
The strict protocols also dictate that the first people to arrive must sit at the front pews, and as others arrive they will be directed to the next available pew nearest the front. Strict cleaning and distancing rules would be enforced by the church wardens - and this would also include leaving the church too, with no assembling to talk or "meeting the rector at the door". We are still not permitted to sing inside the church building, so services would be spoken only.
With so many restrictions still in place, and the bureaucracy involved, the church and glebe wardens and I agree that the best option for our parish is to worship in our drive-in church as we have been for the past few weeks.
I would like to thank everyone for their continued understanding and support during these most difficult days, and for the constant source of strength and encouragement that the parish continues to show through their Christian ministry and witness. We will, of course, continue to keep the situation under close examination, and regularly assess the possibility of the return to the church building when it is both safe and practical to do so.
Regards
Johnny
Rector
Many parishes have welcomed this news with enthusiasm and have announced the steps and precautions that they will employ to facilitate the reopening of their churches.
We fall into the other camp - we will take a while to consider our options and announce our next step in time. We are in the extremely fortunate position in that we can easily operate a drive-in church in our parish carpark. I am certainly enjoying the outdoor experience, and in these difficult times, it has been a blessing to have had so many of our parishioners join us in their cars or online via our streaming option.
There is a lot of extra work involved in bringing a congregation back into the church building again, and as I write this blog, the "2 metre rule" is still in effect - so we would only be allowed to use every third pew, leaving two empty pews between the occupied pews. Even if our Executive agree to a "1 metre rule" such as has been proposed for our schools, we would still only be allowed to use every other pew. The added inconvenience is that only one family may occupy each pew - and that includes single members that arrive too!
The strict protocols also dictate that the first people to arrive must sit at the front pews, and as others arrive they will be directed to the next available pew nearest the front. Strict cleaning and distancing rules would be enforced by the church wardens - and this would also include leaving the church too, with no assembling to talk or "meeting the rector at the door". We are still not permitted to sing inside the church building, so services would be spoken only.
With so many restrictions still in place, and the bureaucracy involved, the church and glebe wardens and I agree that the best option for our parish is to worship in our drive-in church as we have been for the past few weeks.
I would like to thank everyone for their continued understanding and support during these most difficult days, and for the constant source of strength and encouragement that the parish continues to show through their Christian ministry and witness. We will, of course, continue to keep the situation under close examination, and regularly assess the possibility of the return to the church building when it is both safe and practical to do so.
Regards
Johnny
Rector
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