Dear Parishioners,
We are delighted to be coming together in some shape or form on the first Sunday of July. Lockdown has lasted a long time and no doubt there are many who wish for the company of others and their community of faith, participating in the worship of God beneath the one roof. However, this return poses as high a sense of caution as there is a sense of risk!
Ensuring your Safety
Our remit, as Rector and Select Vestry is to ensure that the buildings you will occupy will be sanitised and marked out to adhere strictly to the HSE protocol and to the Return to In-Church Worship Protocols specifically put together by the House of Bishops and Church House in booklet form. (link).
Changes to Services
Our Services will take on a different shape on our return to church. A reduction in time that people are together in an enclosed space reduces the risk of infection and so shorter services are now planned (20-30 mins in duration) for Phase 1 of our re-opening with the use of recorded music between or beneath readings and prayers.
To facilitate the above, the Service times are planned to run as follow:
10am Short Service of Worship in Kilbride
11am Short Service of Worship in Powerscourt
12am Short Service of Worship in Powerscourt
The extra service on Sunday Morning is implemented to cater for the restrictions in the amount of people the church can facilitate at any one service. We are awaiting direction regarding Holy Communion Services and the singing of hymns under present circumstances.
During Phase 1 of our Return to Church both churches will not open during the week.
What Does a Church Service Look Like?
Outdoor markings will be used (where necessary) at a 2m distance between individuals or family groups within the church carparks. Parishioners as asked to adhere to the social distancing regulation when awaiting entrance into the churches. If a queue has formed at the markers, please wait in your car until the Warden on duty indicates.
A Hand Sanitizer will be placed inside the door of the church for use upon entering the building.
Allocated places will be marked by a coloured card and service sheet within the pews selected by the social distancing requirements. Please fill in your name and telephone number on this card with the pen provided. These cards will be collected after each service and placed in a dated envelope. It is important that we recall who was present at every service in case Covid19 is detected.
A One-Way System will be in place to reduce risk. We would be grateful if all who attend could take direction from the stewards as to how they exit the church buildings. We request that you select the next available seat closest to the front of the church. People from the one household are welcome to fill an entire pew. Following the Service we request that each person/family exits the church carefully maintaining distancing, one by one, from the front forward, through the allocated door.
There will be only one reader (apart from the Rector) at each Service. A place will be reserved for the reader within the front pew of the church to reduce movement. Readers are asked to read from their sheet as hard surfaces such as lecterns are to be avoided.
Adhering to Social Distancing restrictions St. Patrick’s Church will hold 25 individuals per service. (This will increase if families attend. Each family will have a full pew). St. Brigid’s Church and its attendance numbers will fully fulfil the distancing requirements.
Who should attend?
Running alongside the careful preparation of buildings is the equally important task of protecting individuals who may be at high risk. As of late, the HSE Guidelines (as adhered to by the Church of Ireland) have slightly loosened restrictions on those who have been within these higher-risk categories e.g those who are over 70 and those with underlying health issues. However, the HSE still recommend that people within the high risk groups should not attend gatherings of more than 6 people. Unfortunately this would seem to rule out anyone within this group attending church at the present time. The current advice regarding this can be found at: https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/cocooning.html
We would also request that anyone who is displaying symptoms of Covid19 or who thinks they may have been in contact with someone with Covid should not attend church services until they have been medically advised that it is safe to do so.
Online Services
As you are no doubt aware, a large and varied range of Church Services are available online. Our own Short Service of Worship has been warmly received and will continue into the future. It has been a pleasure to involve creativity within these services to take church outside the building and my thanks to all those who, thus far, have taken part in the readings and short reflections alongside those who have submitted photographs for use in these Services. Our thanks also to Helen Beardsley who is keeping us all in song with her Sing! Videos of favourite hymns. Together we all make a great team!
In Summary
I understand completely that some of the advice adhered to by the Church of Ireland, in keeping with HSE guidelines, may prove difficult and hurtful to some parishioners who wish to return to regular worship. Please be advised that these decisions are taken for the protection of all within our family of faith, particularly those most vulnerable, and be heartened by the knowledge that further restrictions may be lifted in the near future.
My prayer now is for you all. I pray that you may know God’s presence in all places and that he surrounds you and protects you at this time. May God guide you in wisdom and self-care as we step forward, albeit cautiously into a new future for Church.
With every blessing,
Cathy
