News 3 June 2020

admin-hopechurchfamily-org03/07/2020

Dear Friends,

I’m writing this after watching my oldest son’s school leaving assembly, all streamed online, and it served as a startling reminder of just how much Covid-19 has changed life over the last three months. But now as the virus recedes, the country begins to emerge from lockdown, and life starts to look more normal, our church life can begin to follow suit.

As of this weekend we have permission to restart church services, but I’m afraid they will be a little less frequent, and quite a lot different to what you are used to.

In Pre-Covid days we’d have offered services in six different venues on Sunday. Sadly this weekend we can only offer two. I appreciate this will be a disappointment to some of you, however we are balancing a number of complex factors which restrict what we can do.

  • Our buildings need to be prepared to Covid-safe standards before they can be reopened. This involves someone taking responsibility for a risk assessment and a team of volunteer cleaners. I’m very grateful to everyone who has stepped forward to help with this.
  • The need to social distance in our buildings, which severely reduces capacity. Our biggest venue (Upton) can seat no more than 40, and our smaller ones are restricted to 10.
  • Service leaders. We are missing a number of our service leadership team either due to them being part of at-risk groups, or holidays. We also have to work to keep them safe.
  • Congregation numbers. Many of you are also in at-risk groups, and from the survey I undertook last week, only about half of you are ready to return to church.
  • Online church. Many of you have enjoyed our online provision and until all of you feel safe returning to church, we’re keen to keep this going.

So during July and August we’ll be working towards providing two services a month in our larger church buildings that are ready to reopen (Hanley Castle, Hanley Swan, Welland and Upton where we can seat 15-40 people safely), and one service a month in the smaller venues which are ready to reopen (Earls Croome and the Hook – where we can seat around 10 people safely).  As other venues are ready to reopen we’ll look to add services there too.

Please therefore be patient with us as we seek to serve you…we can only do as much as we can do!

Before I tell you when and where services will be this weekend, please can you read through this guidance note setting out the “ground rules” for a Covid-safe church service.

  • If you are experiencing any Covid-19 symptoms (high temperature, new continuous cough, loss/change to your sense of smell or taste) please seek medical advice and do not attend services. We are continuing to provide services online.
  • If you are currently shielding (ie in the clinically extremely vulnerable group) please continue to observe government guidance, which is currently to stay home and not attend a place of worship prior to 1 August.
  • We will need to take contact details from you when you arrive to assist with contact tracing in the event of an outbreak of Covid-19. This will be kept for 21 days and then disposed of.
  • When you enter and leave the building, please use the hand-sanitiser provided.
  • Where single-use service sheets are supplied, please take them away with you after the service and dispose of them. Please do not leave them on your seat.
  • The social distancing rule is 2 metres. In practice during the distribution of communion, it may be hard to maintain the rule, and other risk-mitigating measures may be in place (for example the use of face masks or visors).
  • To enable social distancing rules to be maintained, please only sit in the seat(s) you are assigned. It helps us increase capacity if family groups/bubbles sit together.
  • At the moment we do not think demand will be such that we have to introduce a ticketing system, but we may have to do this in future weeks. In the event of the building reaching capacity we will have to turn you away, so you are advised to come early to guarantee a seat!
  • There is no requirement to wear face masks, but you may wish to do so if it helps you feel safer. Some service leaders will wear them during the distribution of communion when it is not practical to maintain a 2metre safe distance.
  • Singing is not allowed, due to the risk of virus transmission posed by energetic singing! Shouting and energetic liturgy is discouraged for the same reason!
  • Hard though it will be, family groups and bubbles are discouraged from interacting with each other in the building or in the church grounds.
  • Children are the responsibility of their parents/guardian during the service. In line with national guidance, childrens corners in churches are currently closed, and we are not yet in a position to offer any Sunday School or Breakfast Church provision.
  • Please exit the building as soon as the service ends.
  • There will be no refreshments served after the service
  • Holy Communion will be served in “one-kind” only (bread) as the common cup is seen as a greater infection risk.
  • Cash collections are discouraged. If you give using cash, please consider setting up a standing order or using the Parish Giving Scheme to support our work. You can find out details relating your parish here.
  • Please observe all directions the stewards give you.

Still want to come? Then this Sunday (5 July) I’ll be leading a service of Holy Communion at 9:30am in Hanley Swan and my colleague Sue Adeney will be leading Evening Prayer in Hanley Castle at 6pm.

Next weekend (12 July), we hope to have a service of Holy Communion in Upton at 9:30am, and Evening Prayer in Welland at 6pm, though this is still subject to change. Please check next week’s newsletter for final details!

I’m grateful to you all for your continued patience as we try to work all of this out in a way that is safe for everyone concerned. Please continue praying for everyone involved in reopening buildings and restarting services: we need it!

Briefly, a few other bits of news. And remember, please also scroll down through the rest of this email to see details of readings for this Sunday, links to some fun things we’ve spotted this week, and our updated prayer list.

1)     Church finances – you can make a difference!

Like all small charities, your local church is suffering a significant financial shortfall as a result of lost income from collections and special fundraising events we’d have run through the summer.

Whilst there’s still some hope we might be able to run a few events in the open air later in the summer, we do face a very challenging future financially. If you are in a position to give an additional gift at this time, it would make a huge difference.

To make this simpler, we’ve set up a new GIVING page on our website (https://www.hopechurchfamily.org/giving), with all the information you’ll need to give a one-off, or regular gift to any of our churches.

2)     Services on DVDs and CDs

Every week I produce the services on DVD and CD for a small number of folk across the area who don’t have internet access. It’s been a lovely way for them to stay in touch. If you know of anyone else who would be helped by this ministry, please let me know. And can I say a big thank-you to Alison, John and Robina, who are helping with distribution in Ripple and Welland!

3) Coffee and Chat RIP

One consequence of restarting physical services is that I won’t be available to host our online coffee and chat on a Sunday morning any more. I know for a number of you this has been a valuable means of social interaction during the lockdown. To replace it, we are suggesting you either attend a physical service, or if you aren’t able to do that, participate in the online services of spiritual communion, which will now include an extended “chat” time after the service.

4) Churches Open For Individual Prayer.

Thanks to the hard work of our volunteer cleaners and organisers we’re able to open three of our churches for a short period each week for individual prayer. You can visit to pray at the following times:

  • Mondays 10am-noon         St James’ Welland
  • Tuesdays 10am-noon         St Gabriel’s, Hanley Swan
  • Wednesdays 10am-noon         St Mary’s, Hanley Castle
  • Thursdays 10am-noon         St James’, Welland
  • Fridays 5pm-7pm            St Gabriel’s, Hanley Swan
  • Saturdays 10am-noon         St Mary’s, Hanley Castle

To help keep you safe, the buildings are being cleaned before and after each opening period, and the three-day gap between each building opening will act as an additional “safety buffer” in which the scientists tell us any virus particles that the cleaners have missed will die.

Notwithstanding that, please help us keep the buildings clean and safe by minimising the things you touch while in the building, using the provided hand gel, observing social distancing, and following all safety instructions in the building.

Please do not enter the building if you are experiencing any of the key Covid-19 symptoms:

  • a new continuous cough.
  • a high temperature.
  • a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

It’s also possible that we may need to close one of the buildings occasionally for a funeral, or other service, or because we haven’t been able to maintain cleaning safety. We’ll do our best to inform you of this.

 

5) This week’s Online Events

Click the links on the list below to take you direct to the event at the appropriate time.

Sunday 5 July

Live

Prerecorded, (stream at your convenience)

Wednesday 8 July

Every Day except Sunday

Services for Sunday 12 July

  • T.b.c. Holy Communion in Upton, 9:30am (please check website or this newsletter next week for final details).
  • Evening Prayer, Welland, 6pm
  • Service of the Word (traditional) – PRERECORDED available from midnight
  • Church Family (contemporary)– Facebook Premiere at 9:30am and PRERECORDED available from midnight.

We long for the day when we can all gather together again, but in the meantime, stay safe, stay prayerful, and God bless!

 

 

 

Barry Unwin

 

 

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