The Resurrection...New life during COVID 19...as a process?
Newsletter update about plans for private prayer at church.
The new life of Easter happened after a brief period of waiting, that is between Good Friday and Easter day. The birth of the church at Pentecost happened after a period of waiting, that is between the Ascension of the Lord then ten days later and the first Christian Pentecost when the Holy Spirit and the gospel mission were given to the new church. These were events...happenings.
The emergence into the slightly fragile new life of COVID 19 for our church buildings is not so much an event as a process. The Pandemic is still upon us. Maybe the numbers of infections and fatalities are falling, especially the latter, but we still need to follow the government’s advice on social distancing and personal hygiene wherever we are.
During last week, as was anticipated in some quarters, it was made clear that places of worship would be allowed to reopen for personal prayer only from June 15th. For us as a parish community with two churches, the nature of the recommendations expected of us mean that only one of our buildings can be opened. This needs to be the Cathedral because of its centrality in the life of our town.
I wish to put before you now the recommendations handed down to us by the Diocesan Authorities so that this opening can go forward. Currently the Cathedral has been disinfected within an inch of its life. We have mapped the benches for social distancing and we propose to have space available for up to 20 individuals. A one way system in and out of the building via the South (the usual) door will be in place. The pathway to the available spaces will be clearly marked by arrows on the floor.
The regulations for this opening of churches make it clear that there needs to be two stewards in the Cathedral during its opening hours to see that the social distancing and the cleansing with hand gel are observed. Clearly the more volunteers we have for this duty the lighter the burden will be. Currently we have five people who have volunteered to help. We need several more for this to work. Please contact Cathedral House to discuss.
Newsletter update about plans for private prayer at church.
The new life of Easter happened after a brief period of waiting, that is between Good Friday and Easter day. The birth of the church at Pentecost happened after a period of waiting, that is between the Ascension of the Lord then ten days later and the first Christian Pentecost when the Holy Spirit and the gospel mission were given to the new church. These were events...happenings.
The emergence into the slightly fragile new life of COVID 19 for our church buildings is not so much an event as a process. The Pandemic is still upon us. Maybe the numbers of infections and fatalities are falling, especially the latter, but we still need to follow the government’s advice on social distancing and personal hygiene wherever we are.
During last week, as was anticipated in some quarters, it was made clear that places of worship would be allowed to reopen for personal prayer only from June 15th. For us as a parish community with two churches, the nature of the recommendations expected of us mean that only one of our buildings can be opened. This needs to be the Cathedral because of its centrality in the life of our town.
I wish to put before you now the recommendations handed down to us by the Diocesan Authorities so that this opening can go forward. Currently the Cathedral has been disinfected within an inch of its life. We have mapped the benches for social distancing and we propose to have space available for up to 20 individuals. A one way system in and out of the building via the South (the usual) door will be in place. The pathway to the available spaces will be clearly marked by arrows on the floor.
If you plan to make a visit to the Cathedral please follow all these protocols to the letter. Yet please feel like you are in our Father’s house where the Lord resides waiting for your prayers and your company.We have moved the statues of Our Lady, St Joseph, and the Sacred Heart (The Holy Family!) into the “Inspire” display cabinet at the back of the Cathedral near to the North door. We are doing this so that people may pray before these beloved statues without journeying through the Cathedral. It is not yet clear if we can make votive candles available.
The regulations for this opening of churches make it clear that there needs to be two stewards in the Cathedral during its opening hours to see that the social distancing and the cleansing with hand gel are observed. Clearly the more volunteers we have for this duty the lighter the burden will be. Currently we have five people who have volunteered to help. We need several more for this to work. Please contact Cathedral House to discuss.
Currently I am hoping to keep the Cathedral open from 1.30pm to 2.30pm Monday through to Sunday but these hours and this span of days is dependent upon sufficient stewards being available.