Dear Friends,
On Sunday I mentioned that various changes to our building and worship life would be taking place this week following the government’s decision to proceed to stage 4 of the roadmap. Having spent some time digesting the Church of England guidance I thought it would be helpful to let you know what some of these changes are.
Social Distancing
Yesterday we took out the wooden chairs from church and replaced them with the blue upholstered chairs in the pre-lockdown layout. This has increased our capacity for attendance at services considerably but we are going to continue to remain cautious. For the time being we are going to suggest the use of every other row where possible. We will then also try to alternate which rows are being used at services as well. Social distancing is no longer required, so if you want to sit next to people outside your household there is nothing to stop you. There will be people who want to continue to social distance and there are two options available to you. The first is that you can sit within the main body of the church, and pick up two orange signs on your way in. You will find these located on the tables with the offertory baskets. Place these on either side of the chair you wish to sit on, and this will be a sign to others not to sit right next to you. There are also some individual socially distanced seats placed within the tower. Over the past year we have encouraged people to arrive and leave through certain doors, these restrictions are no longer in place, so you can come and go through the most convenient door for you.
Cleaning and Face Masks
I am encouraging everyone to continue wearing masks when attending a service at St Michaels. As a church we are committed to being inclusive, and for those people within our church family who are feeling vulnerable, knowing that others will be wearing masks is a reassurance to them. I also want to encourage you to continue to clean your hands before you come to church and then to use the hand sanitiser on arrival. We will continue to keep a cleaning regime at church as well.
Track and Trace
The government have advised churches to continue to keep a record of those attending our services and events. Thank you to all the sidespeople and volunteers who have helped with this over the last year. It might be helpful to know that I have been told that we will only have to give Track and Trace the details of attendees at a service should 2 or more people within the same service test positive. They will then issue all attendees at that service with a venue alert. (They won’t tell you which venue it is, but you will probably all work it out). A venue alert doesn’t mean you will have to isolate, but you will be encouraged to get a test.
Holy Communion
We will continue to celebrate Holy Communion on alternate weeks in the manner that we have been doing for some months. At the Sunday 10am service the slight change will be that we will move to having two distribution points on either side at the front of church to help with keeping the service flowing. I would still ask that you come forwards in single-file.
Singing
From Monday congregational singing has been made legal, so on Sunday we will be able to sing for the first time together as a congregation within our church building. Where there is an organist available going forwards, we will sing accompanied by the organ, where this isn’t possible, we will use the recorded music. Louise Richardson and I are in conversation with someone about the Music Director role, please do hold this appointment in your prayers.
Sunday 25th July 2021
This Sunday we will mark, what feels to me like a significant change in our church life, in both our 8am and 10am services. For a number of reasons, the evening service this week has been cancelled – if that is the service you were planning to join us at – please do think about joining us at the 8am or 10am service. As I hear the news and look at the infection rates, I do keep asking myself whether I have made the right decision, making the changes that I have. The answer I am consoling myself with is this: The last 16 months have been long and hard and at every stage I have sought to be as cautious as possible. When these changes were discussed at PCC, one person said that we as a nation are in a place of fear and the church is best placed to lead people out of fear, with hope, with love and with courage, and this is something I will be preaching about a bit on Sunday. So I hope you will understand the changes that have been made, I hope you will continue to worship with me and the wider church at St Michaels, and if you have any concerns or worries please do come and speak to me.
Children and Families Worker
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that we have appointed a children and families worker. I want to take this opportunity to inform you that we have appointed Connie Lane to the post and she will be commissioned to the role during our services on Sunday 1st August. Do be praying for her and for the ministry she is coming to equip us in. Connie joins us from working for the Diocese of Derby and before that Bowdon Parish Church. I am really excited about her appointment and about what lies ahead for our church.
Finally, we are slowly working through baptism preparation with numerous families and following lots of people asking, Jess and I are hoping that Samuel will be baptised during the 10am service on Sunday 17th October which will tie in nicely with his 2nd birthday celebrations. We would love as many of you as possible to celebrate the day with us.
Thank you for your patience in reading this rather long update.
Regards,
Calum