Dear friends, 

 

I trust you are keeping well?
 

I wanted to bring to your attention the latest Government Guidance of places for worship in England which was published in the early hours of this morning. You can find the full guidance which applies from 4^th July here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-the-safe-use-of-places-of-worship-from-4-july

 

If you’ve been following updates and discussion online, there will not be any surprises here. There is certainly good news for couples waiting to get married, as small weddings of under 30 people are now allowed (subject to social distancing etc.).

 

In terms of regular Sunday worship, there are still many restrictions on what is permitted. For most of our churches, the biggest issue may be that singing is not allowed. This would impact about half of our meeting time in many churches! Even if we were comfortable with a “no-singing” meeting, there are still many other challenges to be aware of, for example, handwashing, safe entry and exit and strict social distancing. A COVID-19 risk assessment would also need to be completed before services started. 

 

Obviously what you do as a local church is up to you as local Elders and Trustees. However, our advice as a team is that now is not the time to return to in-person meetings. Online is still the most straightforward and safest option at the moment. I do know of churches (including ours) where small groups are starting to have Garden Gatherings – meetings of no more than 6 people, outside, in order to maintain social contact and friendship. This is a good thing for many people, but there will be those who feel that this is too much. Now is a time to extend much grace – both to those who think we are being too restrictive, and to others who think we are being too relaxed! 

 

Another useful resource is the Evangelical Alliance who are updating their resources page regularly. You can find that at https://www.eauk.org/coronavirus 

 

Let’s keep praying for one another and encouraging each other in this challenging season. Thank you for all you are doing and for working hard to care for your church family and wider communities. 

 

With much love,

Graham Pyman