Dear St Saviour's church family, We are writing to give you an important update that will require action from all of us. Some new guidance from the Church of England regarding our response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) was published yesterday. Here is a link to where you can find ithttps://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-churches We are already observing the guidance around communion which includes not sharing the communion wine, no physical contact during prayer or blessings and also not sharing the peace physically with other members of the congregation. An addition to this is not to kneel at the communion rail to avoid multiple people touching the same surface. Communion will now be issued standing up at Oasis services until the guidance changes. A significant new change is that no tea/coffee/refreshments are to be served and there should be no passing of the offering bags. The immediate implications for us all from today, until the guidance changes, are: Refreshments will not be provided at any of our services or events held in the church. We realise how significant this will be for many in our congregation however, it is important that we do everything we can to protect people.
No offering bags will be passed around during the service,instead, we will ensure that we have an appropriate collection box placed at the back of church for people to place their offering in.
All physical contact with each other should be minimised.
We have many older and vulnerable people in our congregation and it is important that we are vigilant in regards to the welfare of the whole congregation. Those who are elderly or vulnerable have been advised by the government to limit contact with other people. Everyone is welcome in our church, however, if you are feeling unwell, have recently travelled abroad or have underlying health issues, then please seriously consider whether you should attend. With regards to surplus food distribution, we are considering how we can still provide surplus food to the congregation and community and will clarify information about this as soon as possible. We have been advised to produce a Parish Continuity Plan and we will be working on developing it over the coming days. This will include provisions for St Saviour's should we be required to close entirely as well as considerations for the pastoral needs of our congregation. Please pray for the PCC and staff team as we discern the right actions to take. We trust in a God who has power and authority over everything and we will continue to look to Him first as our source of comfort and guidance. With love, Jess Bray & Barney Vanstone Church Wardens Email: wardens@stsaviourssunbury.org.uk Web: www.stsaviourssunbury.org.uk