Good News – Resuming Worship in Church

16 June 2020 12:00

In line with the latest Government guidance both St. Lawrence and St. Paul will be open for services of worship. Initially, to allow us to open safely, there will be one service at each church per week and as you would expect, additional restrictions such as, physical distancing, hand sanitising upon entry, no singing and no refreshments after the service, will be in place.

The morning service will be at St. Paul’s Church at 9.30am and the format will be the same as the online service, which will continue to be shown on Facebook for as long as it is deemed both practical and spiritually fruitful. The timing of the morning service enables the Children’s Church to continue every Sunday at 11.15am.

The evening service will be at St. Lawrence’s Church at 6.30pm and will follow the pattern of Evensong but with the responses and psalms said rather than sung. If permitted after this service has finished, for those who would like to remain there will be a simple service of Holy Communion. This will be received standing and in one kind (only the consecrated bread will be received)

You are encouraged to arrive up to half an hour before each service officially starts and a steward will show you to a pew. To avoid any bottlenecks the church pews will fill up from the front, so it is unlikely you will be sat in your usual pew. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.

To allow us to welcome as many people as possible back to church, please be gracious to others by choosing to attend only one of the two services.

Important. No one should feel obliged to return to Church if they feel uncomfortable. I would also encourage those who are shielding and those in the increased risk category to think carefully about whether it is right for you to come at this stage. Obviously if you have any COVID-19 symptoms you should stay at home and follow Government advice.

If you have further questions please contact our warden Dot Little at churchwardenstlandplongridge@gmail.com, or myself at revmikebarton@gmail.com.

Thank you for your continued support and understanding. Let is rejoice in this latest development while remaining vigilant in prayer and action.

Important Safety Measures for Sunday Worship

The following procedures will be in place during the COVID 19 Pandemic:

For Worship at St Paul's:

Please do not arrive before 9:00 am. Entry will be via the South Porch Door. NO ENTRY via Tower Door;
In order to ensure Social Distancing, a Steward will invite each person/household to enter Church;
If a queue develops, please ensure you maintain Social Distancing in the queue;
On entering Church please give your contact details to the seated Steward (required for Track & Trace – information will be kept for 21 days and then safely destroyed);
Cleanse your hands using the Sanitising Gel provided;
Collect your Service Sheet & Information Sheet;
Proceed down Centre Aisle where a Steward will direct you to the next available seating position to ensure Social Distancing;
Once seated please do not move;
At the end of the Service a Steward will advise you when you can safely leave;
Cleanse your hands with Sanitising Gel as you leave;
All will exit through South Porch where you entered. (Please make sure you take your Service Sheet & Information Sheet with you);
Please leave immediately and do not congregate outside South Porch or in the Car Park. (It could be against the Law).

For Worship at St Lawrence's:

Please do not arrive before 6:00 pm. Entry will be via the Tower Door. NO ENTRY via North Porch Door;
In order to ensure Social Distancing, a Steward will invite each person/household to enter Church;
If a queue develops, please ensure you maintain Social Distancing in the queue;
On entering Church please give your contact details to the seated Steward (required for Track & Trace – information will be kept for 21 days and then safely destroyed);
Cleanse your hands using the Sanitising Gel provided;
Collect your Service Sheet & Information Sheet;
Proceed down Centre Aisle where a Steward will direct you to the next available seating position to ensure Social Distancing;
Once seated please do not move;
At the end of the Service a Steward will advise you when you can safely leave;
South pews will leave next using South Aisle starting from the back;
All will exit through Tower where you entered. (Please make sure you take your Service Sheet & Information Sheet with you);
Cleanse your hands with Sanitising Gel as you leave;
Please leave immediately and do not congregate outside Church. (It could be against the Law).

If you have a new continuous cough, a High Temperature or loss of or change to smell or taste you MUST NOT enter Church, but should go home immediately. If you need clinical advice go online to NHS 111 (or call 111 if you do not have internet access).

DO NOT VISIT GP, PHARMACY, URGENT CARE CENTRE OR HOSPITAL

If you develop any symptoms whilst in Church please leave immediately and follow guidance above.

Before entering Church please make a personal judgement with regard to increased risk, particularly associated with age (over 70) or underlying health conditions

Latest Morning Prayer Readings

The latest Morning Prayer Readings for May 11th until June 6th are now available for download in the Resources section

The Sign Of The Cross

Dear Friends, I wonder how you’re doing? For many of us the adjustments to family, work, social and exercise routines have profoundly changed in a very short period of time. For some on the frontline of the fight against Coronavirus it has meant longer hours, stressful decisions, physical isolation from family members and very little time to process all that’s going on. For others it’s meant trying to juggle childcare, home schooling and working from home and perhaps feeling that you’re not really doing anything well. Some of you will be worried about jobs and the viability of your own businesses and perhaps keeping enough food on the table.

I expect most of us will be concerned for the health of family and friends, and also ourselves. Some will be grieving the loss of someone we love, and the restrictions are making things that much harder. For others this crisis, as horrendous as it is, will have been an opportunity to slow down, take stock of what’s important and reframe your priorities towards a more sustainable future.

One thing for sure is that this epidemic has brought to the surface many conflicting emotions and priorities, but in all the adjustments it’s been good to observe the many messages of hope that have been shared. Hope is a powerful force.

For instance, perhaps you’ve seen the many pictures of rainbows children (and some adults) have painted and placed in their windows. This is something children have been doing to spread hope and from a Christian perspective it immediately reminds us of the story of Noah in Genesis 6-9.

The interesting thing about the sign of the rainbow is that Noah had to go through the flood before the sign of hope appeared. For Noah the rainbow was a sign of God’s covenant with all creation after the crisis had passed. The rainbow was the sign that humanity’s evil would not be judged in the same way again. So after the flood whenever it rained and the rainbow shone in the sky, Noah would be reminded how God rescued him and his family through the danger and it would be a sign of hope for the future.

And for us looking at the sign of the rainbow in the context of the danger we now face, it can give us hope for our future because of God’s covenant faithfulness in the past.

As with Palm Sunday, we’re reminded of the much greater sign of God’s new covenant promise. This is the sign of the cross.

The cross reminds us of the crisis Jesus had to go through on our behalf, so that afterwards we might have an even more magnificent hope. We’re able to look back at the cross in the light of Jesus’ death and resurrection to remind us of how Jesus was judged for all humanity’s sin so we can be rescued into the grace and forgiveness of God.

When a Christian looks at the cross it reminds us of John 3.16, ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’

The cross is a sign of God’s ongoing covenant faithfulness and on Palm Sunday through Holy Week to Easter Day we have the opportunity to enter deeply into this promise again. That’s why in preparation for Palm Sunday, Blackburn Diocese is encouraging as many homes as possible to make a cross and place it in the window of our homes (maybe alongside the rainbow!). This will be a sign of hope to those who pass by that in the saving work of Christ there is healing, life and salvation. This fun video briefly shows the idea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcXvfzJZ09w .

Blessings to you all, Revd. Mike.