The government has said that churches can
re-open for public worship from Saturday 4th July if they can do so
safely. We are very much looking forward to being able to welcome you.
At Bodle Street we are able to comply with the
law, guidance from the government, The Church of England and the Diocese so
that some of us can meet safely for a relatively short service of said Morning
Prayer this Sunday 5th July and we hope to continue with Sunday
services thereafter. (We will release further information about this in due
course).
We recognise that some people will not want to
join us for public worship at the moment. There is no pressure for anyone to do
so until they feel ready and can do so safely.
Some who are clinically extremely vulnerable will have been given
government guidance on shielding or will
have received a letter from their GP and are not
currently advised to attend places of worship. We would strongly
discourage you from doing so. Anyone showing
symptoms of COVID-19 (a new continuous cough, a high temperature or a loss of,
or change in, their normal sense of taste or smell) should not attend. You
should not attend if you are self-isolating due to a possible or confirmed case
of COVID-19 in your household, or because they have been requested to so by NHS
Test & Trace. Further details can be found via: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
Those aged over 70 or with
a particular vulnerability are encouraged to be especially conscious of the current
stay alert and social distancing guidance and may choose not to attend. We respect your personal decision and encourage everyone to
stay safe.
In addition to the audio sermon available
online and over the phone, we will continue to have services available online.
Details are here: https://www.warbletonchurch.org.uk/
We want to explain a bit about some of the
safety measures we have in place and what the service will be like.
We will have the church well cleaned. To
reduce the risk of infection, the church will normally be locked for 72 hours
before and after the service.
If you plan to attend, please wash your thoroughly
hands at home before and after the service. We would also ask you to use your
own 70% plus alcohol hand gel or the hand gel we provide on arriving and
departing in the required way.
Please try to
avoid touching your face. Cough or sneeze into a tissue which is binned safely,
or into the crook of your sleeved arm if a tissue is not available.
We ask you to maintain
a safe distance of at least 2 metres at all times between households
(social bubbles count as part of one household for these purposes). The church
building will be set out for social distancing with pews blocked off as
appropriate.
It will be one pew per household.
In the unlikely event that we reach the
maximum safe capacity, those who arrive last will be asked to leave. If we find
this is an issue, we will look at introducing a booking system.
Please respect any requests from stewards and
church officers.
Please seek to
minimise what you touch and avoid moving around the building unnecessarily.
The evidence is not strong for face
coverings. It seems they provide some protection to others if used
correctly but not to the wearer. The use of a face covering should not be
thought to justify laxity with regard to other precautions. You may wish to use
a well-fitting face covering over your mouth and nose. This is a matter of personal choice. If you choose to use a face covering, we
recommend reading the government advice about their design and use.
Once the
service is over, the government advice is that, “participants should be
encouraged to move on promptly, to minimise the risk of contact and spread of
infection.” If you want to speak to others, it would be better to do that
outside rather than lingering in the building. You will recall that when you
are outside you can meet in groups of up to six people from different
households, following social distancing guidelines but it is safer to keep this
to a minimum.
We would of
course encourage you to continue to keep in touch online and over the phone.
Unless numbers
attending are very low, I will ask different sections of the church to leave in
order, sanitising your hands again at the exit and avoiding congestion.
We will not be
giving out or making available any hymn books or Bibles. You may wish to bring
your own Bible from home and take it away with you afterwards. We will not be
singing as this is an infection risk. We will also avoid raising our voices and
we will not play loud music so that no one is likely to try to shout over it.
The responses in the service should be said with a slightly quiet voice, not a
raised one, please.
We will not be
taking a collection during the service. There will be a plate available
for cash donations (which you should avoid touching) but we would prefer people
to give by Standing Order. Please contact us if you would like to set this up.
You can also send us a cheque.
Children
and young people are
always very welcome at our services. Children should be supervised by their
parent or guardian at all times. Please explain the social distancing and
hygiene precautions to your children and ensure that they comply with them. We
are sorry that it is unlikely we can make any special provision for children.
Although this
is not mandatory, in line with government guidance, and so that we can assist the NHS Test and Trace service,
like other venues including in the retail and hospitality sector, we will seek
to keep an accurate temporary record of those who attend for 21 days, in a way
that is manageable us. We will aim to comply with data protection legislation.
We will ask you for your name and surname and a contact phone number if we do
not already have this information. We will not use this information for any
other purpose.
Government guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-the-safe-use-of-places-of-worship-from-4-july/covid-19-guidance-for-the-safe-use-of-places-of-worship-from-4-july
The latest Church of England guidance can be
found at: https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-churches
We will of course keep what we are doing under
review and we may be able to learn from experience and adapt. We will also make
any necessary changes if the guidance changes.
If you have any other queries, please do
contact me.
I very much look forward to seeing those of
you who are able to join us.
The Revd Marc Lloyd
01435 830421 / 07812 054820
(My day off is normally a Friday)
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