We've been open for two weeks now. Numbers running at about 50% of normal; some folk will return after their shielding finishes next weekend. We are running a small-scale youth worship alongside our main service so have had about 6 teens, however we're not running Sunday School for smaller children as it was at first forbidden; families say they will return when SS starts going again, probably at the start of September. We are still putting services online via FB and distributing paper transcipts to those who need them. Finances are doing amazingly well, we're down a wee bit but not hugely so considering that we have lost some rental income and a couple of fund-raising events. People have been very generous. We're going to try Communion for the first time next Sunday. People have enjoyed suitably-distanced chats in the car park after the services! No singing of course but we have been humming/muttering along to the music with words displayed on the screen, the same with responses.
We have a monthly 'Family Church' for 7-12s, but that is suspended for the duration. It takes place mostly in the Hall, which, in term-time, is being kept as a safe bubble for the pre-school Nursery which occupies it every weekday, so it seems unlikely that we (the Church) will be able to use the Hall on a Saturday for the foreseeable future.
Children at Mass on Sunday mornings - usually they stay with their parent(s) in that part of the nave set out for them with carpet, small chairs, paper, pens, toys etc., as we haven't really had any in the last year or so who would 'qualify' for a separate Sunday Club/School or whatever.
Older children seem happy to be part of the general congregation, though two lads were delighted to have the opportunity to act as servers (and they were doing the job very well, according to Madam Sacristan!).
Sometimes, these older children/young teens will take on the reading of one of the lessons, or handing round the collection basket (now Forbidden), so we do try to involve them in the liturgy.
IF and WHEN the younger families do return - maybe in September, said he hopefully - we will be able to continue to involve them in the rather simpler worship which is The New Normal.
I do hope and pray that Singing is permitted again soon, though...
How do I confess that NZ churches have been back to normal for several weeks now? It's been a hundred days since the last community infection. But the issue now is complacency, and this could all change in the blink of an eye.
Really enjoyed the live broadcast of Choral Evensong on R3 just now. BBC Singers in St Martin in the Fields.
I wonder how they squared it with Boris's regulations.
I think this may have been allowed as a "performance for broadcast and recording purposes". Presumably there was no audience / congregation present. It was not advertised on St Martin's web site as a service.
Details of the four week residency can be found here
O dear. Sorry to hear it - and I see that, as a result, Auckland is under lockdown again.
How does/will this affect the churches?
in the eucharistically-focussed churches, back to communion in one kind, no singing, two metre spacing (etc) ... our diocese stipulates that any church that has not lodged an action plan based on these precautions will be closed pro temps
I should add that I'm not in AKL - don't think many shippies are - and they will be in far more severe straits for a few days - or weeks - or maybe we all will be if these few cases have spread
The Australian composer Joseph Twist has just announced the world premiere performances of his COVIDSafe Mass for Solo Voice and Organ on Sunday August 16. Can be viewed via the Facebook feeds of Christ Church St Laurence Sydney 10.30 am Australian Eastern Time and St Paul's Cathedral Melbourne 10.00am Australian Eastern Time. I am hoping to catch up later, as we will be in church at the same time.
My church had its first outdoor service last Sunday, which I couldn't attend, but I understand it went well. I'm helping with set-up for the one this week. The idea is we get a feel for how it works before moving inside, and we're also very visible (next to a main road!) so it's a good way of showing that the church is still there.
Our Place has a rather pleasant Leafy Glade at the east end, with two large Plane Trees shading a grassy area between the road and the church wall.
It would make quite a suitable setting for an outdoor service, as long as there weren't too many people present (it's not a particularly large space). We're in a quiet residential area (little terraced houses/ narrow streets), but there's little passing traffic...
@Bishops Finger - Providence has smiles on you! We are rather banjaxed for outdoor services as, if one can ignore the bugs and the humidity, we have only a narrow strip between us and the side street, and then a small lawn out front, which gets the noise from both Main Street, and the busier Broad Street a block to the north. There used to be quite a nice little space 'liturgically south' of the church, but the church hall was built on that!
Sadly this morning's outdoor service has reverted to zoom due to rain. I think last week, someone sang from behind a screen, but they erred on the side of caution and didn't allow congregational singing. They joined in with sign language for some songs, though.
We were having palpitations this morning as we were getting near to capacity - in the end we were fine. We'll have to think about next week as I can think of several "shielders" who will want to return. It was our first Communion service and it went well.
An acquaintance has just been instituted at St Bartholomew the Great, London. Apparently the choir were permitted to sing - don't know under which conditions, or about the congregation, probably not.
Here in Scotland, we remain prohibited. Just a single voice behind a perspex screen. Maybe by the time we re-open for services, we'll have moved on?
We were having palpitations this morning as we were getting near to capacity - in the end we were fine. We'll have to think about next week as I can think of several "shielders" who will want to return. It was our first Communion service and it went well.
Good to hear - hopefully, you'll be able to come to some arrangement to cope with overcrowding!
An acquaintance has just been instituted at St Bartholomew the Great, London. Apparently the choir were permitted to sing - don't know under which conditions, or about the congregation, probably not.
Here in Scotland, we remain prohibited. Just a single voice behind a perspex screen. Maybe by the time we re-open for services, we'll have moved on?
Choirs are now allowed to sing but not congregations ..... unless they have all been recruited to the choir.
So, yes, England. Where we are is so importance in promulgating guidance.
Personally, I am trying very hard to resist the impulse to get things back to “normal” as soon as possible or at all. If God has given us a break in the pattern (not saying that COVID is sent by God, but that all things work together for good) then surely we should use it to re-think what church is for and how we best do that, or allow that to happen, now. If anyone is interested in pursuing such thoughts, then I recommend taking time to read Steve Aisthorpe’s new book “Re-wilding the Church”. A really refreshing and stimulating read.
Thanks @Puzzler - I thought that might be the case, but couldn't find the reference.
Well, we could muster one or two cantors, but we really only have a repertoire of hymns/songs, so it might be hard to dissuade the Faithful from joining in...
I was talking to the pastor of a local independent evangelical church yesterday. I had thought that they might be able to be more flexible without a governing national body. However, he has been told their insurance will be invalid unless they follow all regulations and guidance.
Well, it begs the question as to whether "guidance" actually means "rules". To me they shouldn't be the same; you should be able (and I'm not just thinking of Covid) to not follow the guidance if there are strong local reasons and justification for doing so. Of course that creates a headache for the insurance company!
There have been one or two things I've done during the pandemic where I have gone against the guidance of my denomination, which has been stricter than the law - and I have taken care not to break that. (As a Baptist I am not in the same position vis-a-vis the ecclesial authorities as are Anglican ministers).
I suppose it's the fear of litigation that causes people to go perhaps a little further than they need - 'You did (or didn't do) so-and-so in your church, and Granny got the Plague, and died! We want Justice (and lots of £££)!'
So, yes, England. Where we are is so importance in promulgating guidance.
Personally, I am trying very hard to resist the impulse to get things back to “normal” as soon as possible or at all. If God has given us a break in the pattern (not saying that COVID is sent by God, but that all things work together for good) then surely we should use it to re-think what church is for and how we best do that, or allow that to happen, now. If anyone is interested in pursuing such thoughts, then I recommend taking time to read Steve Aisthorpe’s new book “Re-wilding the Church”. A really refreshing and stimulating read.
Thank you, I agree and will certainly follow up that recommendation!
How are those of you, whose churches are now open again, getting on with The New Normal this *Coronatide*?
Our Place has been open since early July, and the weekday Masses are much the same as before, alternating from chapel to chapel in order to keep each space safe and clean!
However, Sunday Mass has taken on a very different, and IMHO most unappealing character - it is far too full of WORDS.
Being good Anglicans (yes, really), we have three Bible Readings (OT, NT, and Gospel, as well as a responsorial Psalm between OT and NT), and, of course, a sermon or homily after the (long) Nicene Creed.
As we are still not allowed to sing, the Kyries, Gloria, Psalm, Gospel Alleluia, Sanctus/Benedictus, and Agnus Dei, are all SAID...and I personally find it all very long-winded and tedious. In addition, FatherInCharge tends to preach mini-homilies introducing the Confession, the Collect, the OT and NT readings, AND the Lord's Prayer.
O for a less wordy service - no mini-homilies, a short 3-fold Kyrie confession, just two readings (including the Gospel), no psalm, and a short Creed...all of which would shorten the Liturgy of the Word, but still leave plenty of time and space for preaching, and for prayer. The Liturgy of the Eucharist doesn't lend itself to shortening, but that's OK - it's the Really Importantest Bit...
In addition, FatherInCharge tends to preach mini-homilies introducing the Confession, the Collect, the OT and NT readings, AND the Lord's Prayer.
Noooooo! That's as bad as introducing each song with a mini-biography of the writer, the story of where you first heard it and the reason it's so precious to you ... (or, alternatively, an analyis of the tune's harmonic structure, especially the augmented dimished minor major seventeenth inverted chord on the penultimate syllable of line 5).
BTW In our place we put up the hymn-words on the screen and play (recorded) music as we have no musicians. Everyone hums or quietly mutters along ... I had to make "shushing" gestures last Sunday as some folk got a bit too enthusiastic during "And can it be?" to "Sagina" - my fault for choosing it I suppose!
We are back to more or less normal, but even if we were on a spoken liturgy I would not deviate from my usual policy of confining my personal wordiness to the sermon and letting the liturgy doing the work the rest of the time, whilst taking some of the shorter options.
Well, I'm apparently not the only one at Our Place who thinks FInC is being over-wordy, so maybe it's time for the churchwardens to Take Him Aside For A Quiet Chat...
We now have two sung masses (vigil and 11:00 a.m.) with the choir split between them. It never was a large choir but this brings us back to six voices which behind a screen and they sing with the piano and not the organ. The Sunday evening mass is said and will remain so. However, I would describe it as a mass out of silence. I open the church for prayer an hour before mass, basically, because I want to pray then and it feels awkward to open it halfway through the time. At least one other congregant comes early to pray. Yes, we have all the words but I suspect Fr homily is shorter and he rarely puts extra educational bits in although extra silence does happen quite often. This slows it so it takes around forty-five minutes rather than the twenty-five minutes of the weekday mass.
I'm in awe of the nearly back to normal people. We're asking people to register ahead of time for worship which is not normal. Then stand outside until invited in; not normal. Wear a mask indoors; not normal. Hand-sanitise, have their names ticked off the attendance list, get shown to a pew filling in from the front; definitely NOT normal! Not sing; not normal. Not receive kneeling at the rail; not normal. Not receive wine; not normal. Do a bit more of the unmasking-sanitising thing for communion; not normal. Wait in the pew till asked to leave; not normal. And no tea afterwards; NOT NORMAL!
But it's only our first service. No doubt these things will become normal-ised. We'll have one voice (remotely situated) to do a bit of singing, eg, Kyrie, Benedictus, Agnus. And there is a hymn - but words only for reflection, while the organist plays. The liturgy is more or less the same. And a short homily/reflection rather than sermon. But it was great to be back. Great to see faces again.
Because we're being cautious about controlling numbers, while we figure out how to best deploy our stewards etc, we're nowhere near our usual numbers - and would struggle to accommodate the upper end of our average congregation. But I think we'll soon be able to relax on that score (while still properly distancing, of course!).
I have not yet seen any precise advice as to how to remove / replace one’s mask hygienically during a service ( ministers, communicants)
If you've got three hours to spare the updated and revised Phase 3 guidelines from the Scottish Episcopal Church will give you the blow by blow account of what to do ref: removing and replacing masks, including hand-sanitising, for the reception of communion. Enjoy!
Thanks to Anselmina and to BroJames. I really must keep up! ( at least with the Church of England rules).
To me, the juggling of the mask and sanitising is going to distract and detract so much that I am not in any hurry to take Communion.
I think this is a good point. I sent out detailed guidelines for our folks to let them know what was going to happen. But a couple of them still found the experience too inconvenient, too anxious-making to want to return this week. I don't for one minute underestimate how much they value the Sacrament. But they clearly had an expectation of what they wanted to feel in returning to worship, and the current experience ain't it! In fact, as I sent out the guidelines, I had half a voice in my head saying 'Is this really worth it? Who'll want to go through all this?'
We've all got to assess what it is we need to receive, and give, to the act of worship, as we return to our church buildings. And we're fortunate to be able to follow our own pace.
O how glad I am to hear that I'm not the only one thinking 'is it really worth it?'.
Yes, of course it is - the Faithful need feeding with the Sacraments etc. etc., but The New Normal is rather tedious and dreary IMHO (as I said earlier).
We hope to reintroduce some singing soon - just 1 or 2 cantors providing a hymn or song during Communion, but the logistics at Our Place make it difficult to safely accommodate more than that. Still, it's a start (we already have some piano/organ music), but I doubt very much if we'll be able to have a congregational Carol Service this year...
Bad form to double-post, but I should say that my grumpy remarks about The New Normal service being tedious and dreary are NOT meant to cast nasturtiums upon the hard work done by FatherInCharge, the Churchwardens, and others, to re-open the church for worship.
I still think we use far too many words, and our rather austere worship would be improved, I think, by being shorter, and with a few more (brief) periods of silence and reflection.
Since it is now allowed for a small choir to sing, with suitable distancing of course, maybe some services will become less tedious, dreary and austere and more..er.. harmonious?
Our church has not had "live" musicians for years so we have become accustomed to singing to backing tracks (well may you wince, but it usually works quite well). In the current climate we are still including hymns and songs in worship, with words on the screen (or paper for the few who really need it) and folk are told to hum or mutter very quietly.
Comments
Children at Mass on Sunday mornings - usually they stay with their parent(s) in that part of the nave set out for them with carpet, small chairs, paper, pens, toys etc., as we haven't really had any in the last year or so who would 'qualify' for a separate Sunday Club/School or whatever.
Older children seem happy to be part of the general congregation, though two lads were delighted to have the opportunity to act as servers (and they were doing the job very well, according to Madam Sacristan!).
Sometimes, these older children/young teens will take on the reading of one of the lessons, or handing round the collection basket (now Forbidden), so we do try to involve them in the liturgy.
IF and WHEN the younger families do return - maybe in September, said he hopefully - we will be able to continue to involve them in the rather simpler worship which is The New Normal.
I do hope and pray that Singing is permitted again soon, though...
How does/will this affect the churches?
I wonder how they squared it with Boris's regulations.
Details of the four week residency can be found here
One way of finding out might be to email the programme website, and ask them nicely...
in the eucharistically-focussed churches, back to communion in one kind, no singing, two metre spacing (etc) ... our diocese stipulates that any church that has not lodged an action plan based on these precautions will be closed pro temps
It would make quite a suitable setting for an outdoor service, as long as there weren't too many people present (it's not a particularly large space). We're in a quiet residential area (little terraced houses/ narrow streets), but there's little passing traffic...
Hmm...
It can't be done in church - except AIUI by one cantor, behind a screen! - but maybe outside is OK...
Here in Scotland, we remain prohibited. Just a single voice behind a perspex screen. Maybe by the time we re-open for services, we'll have moved on?
Good to hear - hopefully, you'll be able to come to some arrangement to cope with overcrowding!
Choirs are now allowed to sing but not congregations ..... unless they have all been recruited to the choir.
IIRC it has been said that the choir is part of the congregation, so why can't the reverse apply?
Still no singing by the congregation but as of The 15 August Update, small groups of singers eg choir, may sing with social distancing. They should not sing in such a way as others might be encouraged to join in. So an anthem or introit would be ok, it seems.
Personally, I am trying very hard to resist the impulse to get things back to “normal” as soon as possible or at all. If God has given us a break in the pattern (not saying that COVID is sent by God, but that all things work together for good) then surely we should use it to re-think what church is for and how we best do that, or allow that to happen, now. If anyone is interested in pursuing such thoughts, then I recommend taking time to read Steve Aisthorpe’s new book “Re-wilding the Church”. A really refreshing and stimulating read.
Well, we could muster one or two cantors, but we really only have a repertoire of hymns/songs, so it might be hard to dissuade the Faithful from joining in...
There have been one or two things I've done during the pandemic where I have gone against the guidance of my denomination, which has been stricter than the law - and I have taken care not to break that. (As a Baptist I am not in the same position vis-a-vis the ecclesial authorities as are Anglican ministers).
Thank you, I agree and will certainly follow up that recommendation!
How are those of you, whose churches are now open again, getting on with The New Normal this *Coronatide*?
Our Place has been open since early July, and the weekday Masses are much the same as before, alternating from chapel to chapel in order to keep each space safe and clean!
However, Sunday Mass has taken on a very different, and IMHO most unappealing character - it is far too full of WORDS.
Being good Anglicans (yes, really), we have three Bible Readings (OT, NT, and Gospel, as well as a responsorial Psalm between OT and NT), and, of course, a sermon or homily after the (long) Nicene Creed.
As we are still not allowed to sing, the Kyries, Gloria, Psalm, Gospel Alleluia, Sanctus/Benedictus, and Agnus Dei, are all SAID...and I personally find it all very long-winded and tedious. In addition, FatherInCharge tends to preach mini-homilies introducing the Confession, the Collect, the OT and NT readings, AND the Lord's Prayer.
O for a less wordy service - no mini-homilies, a short 3-fold Kyrie confession, just two readings (including the Gospel), no psalm, and a short Creed...all of which would shorten the Liturgy of the Word, but still leave plenty of time and space for preaching, and for prayer. The Liturgy of the Eucharist doesn't lend itself to shortening, but that's OK - it's the Really Importantest Bit...
BTW In our place we put up the hymn-words on the screen and play (recorded) music as we have no musicians. Everyone hums or quietly mutters along ... I had to make "shushing" gestures last Sunday as some folk got a bit too enthusiastic during "And can it be?" to "Sagina" - my fault for choosing it I suppose!
But it's only our first service. No doubt these things will become normal-ised. We'll have one voice (remotely situated) to do a bit of singing, eg, Kyrie, Benedictus, Agnus. And there is a hymn - but words only for reflection, while the organist plays. The liturgy is more or less the same. And a short homily/reflection rather than sermon. But it was great to be back. Great to see faces again.
Because we're being cautious about controlling numbers, while we figure out how to best deploy our stewards etc, we're nowhere near our usual numbers - and would struggle to accommodate the upper end of our average congregation. But I think we'll soon be able to relax on that score (while still properly distancing, of course!).
If you've got three hours to spare the updated and revised Phase 3 guidelines from the Scottish Episcopal Church will give you the blow by blow account of what to do ref: removing and replacing masks, including hand-sanitising, for the reception of communion. Enjoy!
To me, the juggling of the mask and sanitising is going to distract and detract so much that I am not in any hurry to take Communion.
I think this is a good point. I sent out detailed guidelines for our folks to let them know what was going to happen. But a couple of them still found the experience too inconvenient, too anxious-making to want to return this week. I don't for one minute underestimate how much they value the Sacrament. But they clearly had an expectation of what they wanted to feel in returning to worship, and the current experience ain't it! In fact, as I sent out the guidelines, I had half a voice in my head saying 'Is this really worth it? Who'll want to go through all this?'
We've all got to assess what it is we need to receive, and give, to the act of worship, as we return to our church buildings. And we're fortunate to be able to follow our own pace.
Yes, of course it is - the Faithful need feeding with the Sacraments etc. etc., but The New Normal is rather tedious and dreary IMHO (as I said earlier).
We hope to reintroduce some singing soon - just 1 or 2 cantors providing a hymn or song during Communion, but the logistics at Our Place make it difficult to safely accommodate more than that. Still, it's a start (we already have some piano/organ music), but I doubt very much if we'll be able to have a congregational Carol Service this year...
I still think we use far too many words, and our rather austere worship would be improved, I think, by being shorter, and with a few more (brief) periods of silence and reflection.