We are delighted to announce that our church will reopen for worship on Sunday 12th July 2020: the Hours and Typika will be served, beginning at 10.30 am.
Father Kosmas is very sorry that he is unable to serve in church at this stage of the Coronavirus pandemic: he has an underlying health condition that makes him clinically vulnerable. Until he returns to serve in church, we plan to have Readers’ services each Sunday. There will be no Liturgy in our church and no opportunity to make your confession here until Father Kosmas is able to serve again. Subject to medical advice and our Archbishop’s blessing, he hopes to be able to serve the Liturgy in the near future!
Planning to come to church during the COVID-19 pandemic
In order to keep us as safe as possible, and to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID-19, everyone who comes to the church must follow strict rules for social distancing, hygiene, etc. If you are planning to come to the church, please click here to see the rules that you must follow.
If you are clinically vulnerable (i.e. aged 70 or older, or aged under 70 with an underlying health condition) you are strongly urged to read the Government advice before deciding whether to come to church, and to follow the guidance about keeping yourself safe.
Coming to church
The number of people allowed in church will be strictly limited so that people inside can keep 2 metres apart. Admission to the church will be on a strict ‘first come, first served’ basis.
In line with the NHS Test and Trace system, we are keeping a temporary record of everyone who visits our church. Everyone who comes to the church will be given a simple form to fill in with their name and phone number. If there is a local outbreak of COVID-19, this will help to track the spread of the virus and to save lives.
If the church is already full when you arrive, we are very sorry that you will not be allowed to enter until someone else leaves. The church doors will remain open so that you may be able to hear the service from outside, but you must remain 2 metres away from anyone who is not a member of your household while you are outside the church.
At the end of the service, when the congregation has left, the church will remain open for another 30 minutes to allow those who have been waiting to come into the church to pray, to light candles, to reverence the Holy Icons, or simply to be still in God’s presence
If you can’t come to church
Those of us who can’t come to church, or who are clinically vulnerable and have been advised to stay away, can still join together in worship at home. Each week, the same service that is being used in church will be available on the Choir page, so that all of us can pray and worship together, even if we cannot be physically together in church.