Worship & Services

We want to make being in church as safe as possible, and while we recognise that each of us has a different attitude to risk, we need to move forward as a community, enabling as many people as possible to feel they can return safely to church.

With that in mind, both PCCs have agreed the following:

In each parish church, we will only use alternate pews, and these will be staggered on either side of the aisles, so that you will always have an empty pew in front of you and behind you as well as opposite you.
Pews where you may not sit will be marked with a cross.
Booklets and hymn books will be placed in pews before the service to avoid too many people handling them, and we ask that you leave them there at the end of the service.
We are asking everyone to wear a face covering while in church to protect each other and especially those who are most vulnerable.
We are also asking people to keep a respectful distance from those they do not live with or are not in a bubble with.
Please do ask people before approaching them if they are comfortable with that degree of proximity. We will all have different feelings about this and need to accommodate each other.
We are asking people to be mindful when leaving and entering the church about observing some social distancing.
We will be able to sing in church, but again would ask that people wear a mask while doing so.
Communion will be brought to people in their seats, and we will continue to receive as at present using a double paper cup, waiting until everyone has their cup and then receiving together.
Refreshments can be served but again, it is important that we think about those serving them and our own behaviour in terms of social distancing while enjoying a coffee.
There will always be hand gel and spare masks in church

Church Opening

St Peter’s and St John’s will be open as set out below from Sunday 5th September. The opening times have been agreed so as to allow 3 days between people accessing them and any church services.

St Peter’s will be open from 10.00 – 15.00 Sunday to Wednesday. Closed Thursday to Saturday

St John’s will be open from Wednesday 15.00 to Sunday 15.00.

These arrangements will be reviewed regularly and may change if the situation with the pandemic changes

A Service of the Word is an authorized Church of England service. As the name suggests it is a service centred around listening to and pondering the Word of God and responding to it. Like the Communion service, there will be hymns, intercessions and other prayers, but at its heart is the Word of God, so the service is geared around preparing to hear the Word and responding to it. We will be using the Sunday readings and there will be a short time of reflection, either with some music or a short, spoken reflection. All in all, the service should last between 30-40 minutes, and there will be a service booklet to follow.

If you have any questions or concerns about any of this, please contact Pat on 01661 842272