The following is an extract from a recently letter from the minister regarding the resumption of public worship
Resuming church services.
The Scottish Government has now allowed places of worship to reopen for communal services with a number of restrictions in place. It is the responsibility of the Elders to make the decision when to resume services. The Elders have had conversations amongst themselves and with members of the congregation and have decided to resume public worship on Sunday 30th August at the usual time of 11.30am.
This letter is to make you aware of what worship will be like and what provisions will continue to allow you to worship at home. This is to enable you to decide when is the right time for you to return to public worship.
All the provisions for worshipping at home will continue. This is the weekly recorded service which you can access on the phone (01698 533205) or via email; the services of Communion on a Wednesday afternoon which can be accessed by Zoom or phone; and the Thursday night ‘Talk Together Thursday’ on Zoom. Details of the arrangements for the Wednesday Communion services in August are at the end of this letter. Elders will continue to make phonecalls and requests for a visit can be made to Lindsey.
If you feel that you are ready to come back to worshipping in the church then please note the following:
- Hand sanitiser must be used on entry and exit to the building
- Social distancing of 2m should be observed when seated and when speaking to people
- The service will be shorter – around 30 minutes
- Face coverings should be worn throughout the service
- There will not be any singing
- If you want to use a Bible, please bring your own with you from home
- Please bring water with you if you feel you may need a drink
- We will delay sharing Communion together initially
- There will be no tea/coffee after the service
- A record of attendance will be kept and shared with NHS ‘Test and Protect’ if required
- If a positive case of Covid 19 is linked to the church, the building will be temporarily closed again.
- Car sharing is recommended for essential journeys only.
You should not attend worship if
- you are currently shielding;
- if you are unwell;
- if you have symptoms of covid19;
- if you are self-isolating because someone in your household has symptoms
- if you have been contacted by NHS Test and Protect.
We do not know at present for how long these restrictions around worship will be in place. We will continue to follow Scottish government advice and advice from the URC at all times. As restrictions ease the Elders will consider if it is right for us to implement these changes. If the restrictions increase again these will be implemented immediately.