Dear Church Family,
As many of you will be aware, next Sunday (5th July) will see the easing of lockdown measures for churches across the country. This is wonderful news for us all, albeit wrapped in caution given what we have been through over the last three months.
The Parish Leadership Team met on Thursday to discuss how we will approach the re-opening of our churches safely. The general air of the meeting was positive but cautious. We are not obliged to re-open in July if we don’t want to and we must stick to social distancing and hygiene measures for the foreseeable future. We also acknowledged the positive effect that live-streaming has had on the wider community and the sense of ‘One Parish’ and it was agreed that this will remain a part of how we offer worship indefinitely. The operation of the Food Hub at St Peter’s will continue in its current 6-day a week format until the end of August. With all this in mind, I am delighted to be able to report that we have agreed we will begin by offering the following:
From 5th July 2020
A live-streamed service of Morning Worship from St Peter’s Church at 9.30 am on Sundays.
Those involved in the service will be allowed to attend. This means that Fr Tony or I will be joined by those reading the Bible passages, the intercessors, preachers, and (potentially) a musician. No other congregation members will be allowed to attend during July.
All Saints’ Church will be open between 10 am and 12 noon every Saturday morning for private prayer. Adults only, otherwise all are welcome but you must adhere to social distancing and hygiene procedures. Limited numbers will be permitted in the building at any one time. No toilet facilities will be available.
In August 2020
A live-streamed service of Morning Worship from St Peter’s Church at 9.30 am on Sundays. A limited number of people will be able to attend – under current guidelines this will be no more than 30 people and further guidance will follow when we can share it.
Children’s Church will resume in some form, using alternate venues and outdoor spaces. Times and locations will be confirmed by the Children’s Church team.
A Service of Holy Communion at All Saints Church at 9.30 am on WEDNESDAYS will be offered to a congregation of up to 15 people.
All Saints’ Church will continue to be open for private prayer on Saturdays in August between 10 am and 12 noon.
In September 2020
A live-streamed service of Morning Worship from St Peter’s at 9.30 am on Sundays. A limited number of people will be able to attend – under current guidelines this will be no more than 30 people but we hope this will be reviewed so we might open up the hall to provide more seating. Further details as we can share them.
Children’s Church will continue on Sundays, in accordance with any updated guidance. Details to be confirmed.
The 11.15 am Sunday service will resume at All Saints’ Church with social distancing and hygiene procedures in place. Under current guidelines this will be limited to 15 people in attendance but we hope there will be further easing by the Autumn. We will share further details as these become available to us.
A Service of Holy Communion at 9.30 am on Wednesdays will continue at All Saints' Church.
All Saints' Church will no longer open for private prayer in September to allow the church to be cleaned for Sundays.
A Word of Caution
It is important to note that all of these are hopes and not set in stone. We will continue to follow the advice and instructions we are given by the government, the diocese, and the Church of England. Please bear with us as we navigate these uncharted waters, knowing that we have your safety and well-being at heart with the decisions we have made.
At this stage, the 8 am service at All Saints Church cannot resume due to the restrictions of cleaning in between each Sunday service.
The use of St Peter’s Hall will begin to look a little more regular in September and we welcome your prayers as the plans for continuing this important provision begin to take shape.
In all of this, we hope to be able to see you, albeit in smaller groups, in person again soon!
Questionnaire
In light of restrictions on congregation numbers, we need to understand what each of you are thinking in relation to returning to congregational worship. To that end, we have put together a short survey to gather this important information.
ACTION: Please complete the questionnaire which you can access here:
Your Parish Needs You! Please consider these two particular issues at this time:
1. In order to pursue these plans for re-opening, we need to be able to clean both churches thoroughly each week. We will use teams of 2-3 people for both churches – days and times are flexible. Please do consider supporting our worshipping community in this way, as many of our current team at both Churches are in the Covid-19 vulnerable category. Put simply – no cleaning, no opening!
ACTION: Please be in touch with Dawn Shaxon in the Church Office if you can help with this crucial task: office@huttonparish.com
2. I am also looking for a small team of people who are “mildly tech-savvy” or who would be willing to learn how to set up and run the weekly live-stream at St Peter’s. You don’t need to be Bill Gates, being able to use a laptop and Facebook is enough!
ACTION: Please be in contact with me directly on andy@huttonparish.com or 01277 514896 and we will take it from there.
This Sunday
Join us on Facebook for our St Peter's Day service, 9.30 am on Sunday morning.
The service book can be found here:
The pew sheet can be downloaded from here:
With every blessing,
