Coronavirus Measures in the Parish

Oakworth Parish News Update 2

Re-Opening of Our Church Buildings

The PCC have agreed to open up our churches from this Sunday 2^nd August. Both churches will open up in a limited way as follows:

St John’s will open up for Private Prayer at the following times:

1^st and 3^rd Sundays: 11:00am until 12:30pm

2^nd, 4^th and 5^th Sundays: 2:30 until 4:00pm

Christ Church will open up for a “Gathering” at 9:30am each Sunday as usual. This will complement the usual on-line service which will continue for the foreseeable future.

The “Gathering” which will not necessarily be led by a member of the ministry team, will be similar in format to our usual All-Age service and will include the pre-recorded elements of the on-line service. Thus we are giving an opportunity to those who are confident to do so to meet in church to worship together.

We must ensure the safety of all who attend our churches and we will be following Church of England guidelines for public worship.

Please read the guidance below so that you know what to expect.

Returning to the Churches in the Parish for Public Worship

The most important thing is for people to feel safe to return. Many people will decide that the time is not yet ripe to worship in church, and will continue to worship at home. We will continue the on-line services in their present form for those who choose not to come and who have experienced this as part of their Sundays over the past four months.

General Guidance

• Physical Distancing.

We would like everyone  including the potentially vulnerable to be able to worship at our churches without anxiety, and so even if you are confident about your own health, please respect your neighbour, and maintain a 2 metre distance at all times.

• Numbers.

To maintain the 2 metre distancing, we can safely seat about 30 people at Christ Church some singly with couples and families together.

At St John’s, we can seat about 12 safely.

• Arriving at church

When you arrive at Christ Church, please wait to enter at the Main Door. (You may need to queue, in which case please maintain the appropriate distance). The Tower Door will be used as the exit. The Kitchen Door will not be used and will remain on a chain throughout.

When you arrive at St John’s, please wait to enter at the Main Door. (You may need to queue, in which case please maintain the appropriate distance).

• Hygiene

On entry, you will be asked to use the hand sanitisers and then shown to a seat.

At St John’s you will be allocated a designated seat for your continued use.

Please use hand sanitisers on entry and exit and also before and after using the toilet if needed.

Face coverings are now required by all who attend.

• During the service we are trying to avoid unnecessary moving about once the congregation is settled.

With this in mind:

All words and responses will be displayed at Christ Church but if you need a printed service sheet, we will provide one for you to bring to church and take away with you.

At St John’s the relevant service sheets will be provided for personal use. These should remain in your designated area to be used, week after week only by you.

Readings and Prayers may be recorded and projected at Christ Church. At St John’s they will be delivered from the pew.

Sadly, singing is not permitted, for fear of infection. We will have either an organist, keyboard player or recorded music. We are also advised not to shout out our responses for the same reason.

At the moment, the service will not include communion but if in future the service includes communion, this will be by bread (host) only. We will not go to the communion rail but it will be brought to you in your seats. Please do not make any response as you receive the host.

• Donations

We will not circulate the collection plates. Please place your loose collection or envelope in the donations box.

• Leaving

At Christ Church, exit from the church will be via the Tower Door. Please use the hand sanitisers provided as you depart.

At St John’s please wait your turn to leave and use hand sanitiser as you do so.

At both churches, please try to avoid contact with surfaces other than the one you have been sitting in as you leave.

• Refreshments

There will be no refreshments after the service yet.

• Contact Tracing

We have been asked to record names and contact details of all those attending our services. This is for Contact Tracing purposes only and records will be destroyed after four weeks. We have this information for most people already but we may have to ask people to supply this information.

Children’s work

• Children are welcome to attend and in line with Government guidelines, those under the age of 11 do not need to wear a mask.  Explorers’ activities are under consideration and will not re-start until later in the year.  However, individual activity packs will be available for regular attendees to collect on entry and there will also be some spares for visitors.  Parents and guardians are encouraged to bring suitable books for their own children.  Children must stay seated with parents or guardians and there will be no access to shared toys at the back of church.