The government has now lifted most legal restrictions which affected what we could and could not do at St John's. This means we have can now made some changes to our church services.
The guidance from the Church of England is cautious and tries to reflect the fact that the number of infections is high and some people may feel uncomfortable with the removing of restrictions.
All through the pandemic we have been really clear that the most important thing is keeping everyone at St John's safe. We want to make sure people feel safe in church so not everything will change all at once, even if the law would allow us to make changes more quickly.
- All pews are now open for all services.
- Maintaining physical distancing is no longer a legal requirement, but if possible we would encourage you to keep your distance and respect those who still appreciate the extra space.
- There is no need to sign in when you enter the building.
- Face coverings are no longer compulsory but we understand that some people feel safer wearing one. We encourage people to wear them in crowded situations (for example when entering and leaving church.)
- Singing is now allowed but we would ask people to do this at physical distance where possible.
- We will continue to only share the bread at Communion. The priest will receive the wine on behalf of the congregation.
- During the peace, we would encourage you to share the peace from a distance with a friendly wave, rather than a physical greeting.
We hope to make further changes in the coming weeks including sharing the wine at Communion and serving refreshments again after our services.
We are taking these steps cautiously by monitoring the situation and carrying out risk assessments and hope that you will enjoy seeing St John's take more steps out of the restrictions that have made things so difficult for us over the past year.