10 July 2020
10:28 | 
Posted by
Admin |
Dear All,
This is such a welcome
email to be writing! Our first service post lockdown will be at 10am on
Sunday, 12 July!
For the immediate
future we will not be holding the 8:00am service as the logistics of
preparing the church for a further service within such a short period of time
are not practical. I am afraid Sunday School will not be restarting this
term but, please, come along to church as a family. We will be following the
usual pattern for 10am services and so the service this Sunday will be a Parish
Eucharist taken by Father Stephen. Janet and I will ‘sidesman‘ this
service to see if everything runs smoothly or if anything needs rethinking.
The practicalities are -
- We must remain 2 metres apart from other family groups at all times –coming to church, in church and leaving the church. For this reason we will be sitting in alternate pews, no-one should sit in the front pew or rear pew in the front half of the church and in the front pew in the rear section of the church. No one should sit within 2 metres of the ends of the pews. We will put chairs in the transepts to increase seating as much as possible but we may run out of space in the church. You might like to put a garden chair in the car and then we will transmit the service into the churchyard for those who can’t get into church or who pprefer to sit in the churchyard. If you do choose to sit in the churchyard you must still maintain social distancing at 2 metres. If you wish to wear a mask, please do. Please wait to enter church if necessary to maintain that 2 metres. Please avoid touching surfaces unless necessary.
- Please use the hand sanitizer provided on entry to the church and when you leave.
- If you wish to visit the toilets the door opposite the south door of the church will be open. Again, please use the sanitizer on entry and on exit. Please use the surface cleaner provided on any surfaces you have touched including taps and the toilet seat and flush.
- We cannot sing or exchange the Peace. We are asked to make all responses quietly and not raise our voices.
- We will use our service booklets as usual and they will then be quarantined for 7 days.
- We will have a collection but the collection bags will not be used. We will place plates by each exit for your donations and these will be quarantined for 72 hours before being processed
- Father Stephen will explain the arrangements for receiving the host on Sunday but basically we are allowed to receive the host in one kind – the bread. However we must come up to receive in single file (2 metres apart) and receive standing. We will not respond. We will go up to receive by the centre aisle and peel off as appropriate to the side aisles to return to our seat.
Please be patient with these measures , we do reassure you that they are
there in order to keep everyone safe. We are aware that this is gong to feel
very different but it will be so good to be back in church worshipping
together! If you have any questions do, please, ring either me (01243
641493) or Janet (01243 641698).
If you wish to see St Mary’s Risk
Assessment relating to services at church, please contact me.
Looking forward to seeing
you on Sunday,
Chris
