Some good news — we plan to start services in church again. This Sunday, 5th July, at 10am at All Saints, Great Glemham. Please make sure you are there in good time. We think there will be room for all of you, as we have done some counting, but once the Church is full, we will have to turn people away.
If this happens, we will seek to find a way of accommodating people by conducting two services on a Sunday morning, or having a Service on a weekday in the future. So, the earlier you get there the better. We must obey the social-distancing rule.
Below are some notes which I hope will answer your questions, and possibly reassure you if you are in doubt.
Rachel
Will there still be a video for those who aren't able to come?
Yes — we will now be filming the service in church, and that video will be posted on YouTube as soon after the service as we can. (If you are at the service and do not want to appear on video will you let me or Hannah know.)
What about safety?
Our church buildings are ancient and it is impossible to be certain they are virus free, but we will do our best and follow Government guidelines. The seating will take account of 2m social-distancing. We think we can seat 30 people, but if couples or families come, this will affect the numbers and may make room for more.
There will be hand-sanitizer, which should be used as you enter and leave.
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After the service you should leave by the door indicated. There will be no refreshments. You may find it possible to chat to friends at a distance outside before you make your way home.
Will we have a service sheet to follow?
Yes — these will be similar to our usual Orders of Service. We will try to ensure you are the only person to handle your service sheet. Service sheets should be placed in the box after the service. These will be untouched until the following week ensuring any risk of the virus is removed. If you prefer to take yours home, please bring it back next week, but keep it for yourself only.
Will there be music?
We will have music before and after the service, but we will not be able to sing hymns. We hope this might change in the next few weeks as singing together is an important part of our worship.
What about the Peace?
We must not greet each other by touching, but there is nothing to prevent us offering a sign of Christ's Peace to neighbouring congregants — some have started to use the Nameste — but any form of greeting which maintains social-distance is acceptable.
How will Holy Communion be affected?
The priest and all who enter the sanctuary will sanitize their hands before touching anything.
The priest will sanitize her hands after receiving Communion and before giving the Sacrament to anyone else.
When speaking, the priest will keep the wafers covered to ensure they are kept safe.
The congregation will receive the Sacrament in one kind only — the bread — as it is thought too unsafe to share the chalice. The priest alone will receive the wine on behalf of the congregation.
The congregation will not gather at the altar rail to receive the Sacrament. They will be asked to come up in a line, receive the bread and then return to their seat by the other aisle, so that we don't have to get close to anyone else.
What about our offering?
The Collection plate will be by the door as you enter, and you are asked to place your offering into that. There won't be a Collection during the service — the plate will be brought up to the altar at the offertory.
Why can't we just go on with the video we have all been enjoying?
There is a requirement that Holy Communion is celebrated in each benefice each Sunday. This requirement has been lifted for the duration of lockdown but, whilst the Bishop understands that there may be issues for some benefices which may take a little time to resolve, the Bishop would expect a formal process to be followed if we weren't able to worship in church again for an extended period.
There is a specific ruling preventing a priest presiding at Holy Communion alone. During the lockdown this has been eased, but the permission will not be extended once churches are open for worship again. This means Rev Rachel cannot preside alone in her home any longer than absolutely necessary.
Hannah has given up a large amount of her time, despite working full time throughout lockdown, in order to make the high-quality Service video. She doesn't feel able to continue to make the video as well as play in church and make the video of the live service.
By filming the service, we will be doing our best to involve those who are unable to risk attending public worship at this time.
Are there other services we can watch?
There are a number of online Acts of Worship available. In particular, there is a service from the cathedral on a Sunday. Visit (click here) https://stedscathedral.org/worship/.
Will we return to the service rota?
The intention is to offer a benefice service each Sunday. We have no plans at present to return to the service rota which was in place for a considerable time (but this will be kept under review). In the longer term the rota we were familiar with will return. There may be some small adjustments but there is no long-term plan to do away with all the Services we have become used to and wish to attend.
Until we have a clearer picture of what affect the virus has as people mix more and lockdown is eased, we cannot plan any more at this time. It is possible that harvest festivals, and services beyond the autumn will be curtailed.
What about services during the week?
It is hoped that the regular weekday services will resume in the near future. At present we are considering aspects of safety as well as the availability of the church building. These will include weekly morning prayer, two weekday services of Holy Communion each month and the monthly service of Compline. Some may feel that a service of Holy Communion on a weekday which is attended by minimal numbers of people may be a safer place than a Sunday Service.