Dear Friends,
It was with great sadness that on 18th March 2020 we took the decision to temporarily close the Church building to protect our community from the Coronavirus Pandemic, and adhere to Government lockdown requirements.
Over the past 13 weeks we have been pleased to continue the work of the Church via our website and Facebook page. We have had enormous support for our Online Divine Services from ‘visiting’ mediums and congregation (old and new). Thank you!
As you may be aware, the Government has recently updated it’s guidance regarding places of worship, and there are now two key dates:
- 15th June 2020 – Private Worship (with COVID-Secure Controls)
- 4th July 2020 – Church Services (with COVID-Secure Controls)
We have been monitoring Government guidance throughout the lockdown and given much consideration to the risks and arrangements for reopening the Church building.
On 9th June 2020 the Church Committee and Trustees held a combined meeting online to discuss our response to the changing government guidelines.
We agreed that the Church building would NOT reopen on 15th June 2020 for private worship.
We also agreed that there would be no plans to immediately reopen the Church building on 4th July 2020.
While we are all keen to resume our work within the Church, we feel at this stage the risks outweigh the benefits.
However, we HAVE agreed:
- The Online Divine Services will continue, at least until the Church building reopens for a Divine Service.
- Government guidance will be continually monitored.
- Our Coronavirus risk assessment and guidelines will be continually reviewed and updated.
- We will consider future events on a case-by-case basis in line with our Coronavirus Guidelines.
Our Church exists to serve our community and keeping the building closed for so long is counter-intuitive for many of us. However, the Coronavirus threat remains very real and we believe we have a duty to protect our community and prevent unnecessary earthly suffering.
We very much hope that the national Coronavirus situation continues to improve and that we can find a way to reopen safely soon.
In the meantime, we are here if you need us. Contact us via our website or facebook page.
