On the 2nd July, the government announced that churches could re-open for services but with a number of restrictions in place. We are discussing how we might open St Chad’s and we are waiting for the Church of England and Lichfield Diocese to clarify what is allowed. We are hoping that we can open St Chad’s in the last week of July or first week of August. With the current restrictions in place, this is what we are proposing:

We are not allowed singing whatsoever, so whatever form of service we hold it will have to be spoken only. The common cup is prohibited so communion would have to be in one kind only. We understand that some people are, quite naturally,  anxious to even participate in that.  One thing that needs to be taken into consideration is that we have a congregation that are in the vulnerable bracket and therefore deep cleaning the church, following a public opening, puts people at an unnecessary risk. That is the reason we have kept the church closed for 72 hours between open days. It follows that if we hold a regular Sunday service either someone will have to deep clean the church to allow our current opening schedule or the church would have to be open on every Sunday and Thursday only. This may not be convenient for everybody.

We are considering holding Morning Prayer (spoken) on Sunday morning. There would be no singing and sadly, no refreshments. However, if the weather is fair, people could meet (socially distanced of course) outside and chat. 

To help us with our deliberations, it would be helpful to know who would attend Morning Prayer and who would prefer a Communion service, if we held one, and whether you would be prepared to receive communion in one kind only. Whatever service we decide to hold, we will need to decide on an appropriate time and again, we would welcome feedback regarding that. 

Whatever decision is made, we intend, for the foreseeable future, to continue with the online virtual service for those who are unable or unwilling to attend in person.