Pastoral letter regarding PCC decision to temporarily suspend worship in the light of the latest national lock down. Please see attached letter.<br>
Changes to our Sunday services – From September 27th you will no longer need to book ahead to attend the services. Just turn up, use the hand sanitiser on entering and remember to bring a face mask (we have spares available). On arrival you will need to give the sidesperson on duty your name and contact details. These are kept securely for 3 weeks for contact tracing purposes and then shredded. This is a legal requirement to keep everyone safe. The exception will be for services where we normally expect a large number of people e.g. Remembrance Sunday, Christmas for which I will give you more information nearer the time.
At PCC on Monday we set the date for the APCM for October 11th at 11.15am (after the 10.30am service). It will be in church, socially distanced, as brief as possible and primarily for election of offices. This meeting is normally held by the end of April and we had everything ready to go last March. However, Covid put paid to that and the national Church of England gave parishes an extension to the end of October to hold this meeting as it is a legal obligation to do so.The annual meeting is an important one for the whole church. It is the opportunity for members of the congregation to elect the people that they want to be on the PCC, to ask questions about the state of the church building , finances etcAt the meeting we will elect two church wardens who look after the fabric of the church buildingTwo places for deanery synod for a 3 year elected period -our representatives in the deanery (these people are automatically members of PCC)PCC members - one 12 month vacancy and three vacancies for a 3 year elected period.To be a member of PCC you must be over 16, consent to being appointed, have been on the electoral roll for at least 6 months, be confirmed or be ready to prepare for confirmation.The PCC are responsible for the maintenance and repair of the church and churchyard and the contents of the church. They make representation to the bishop on any matter affecting the welfare of the church, are consulted by the diocese in any instances where a team ministry etc may be proposed and assist the vicar with some aspects of the running of the church and decision making about future potential projects. The PCC meets every second month for a couple of hours.If you want any further information about any of the offices please let me or one of the Church Wardens know. There are nomination forms at the back of church and are also attached. Nominations for Church Warden MUST be returned to myself before the meeting. Nominations for PCC can be made on the day if not done beforehand.All of the reports are available as paper or electronic copies. I'd like to extend a huge thanks to David and Andrew the wardens and all of the PCC for their ongoing support throughout this year. Running a church during Covid with constantly changing expectations and regulations has been challenging to say the least. Particular thanks go to those members of the PCC who were due to retire last March but have extended their term of office for the last 6 months to help keep things running smoothly, it is hugely appreciated.
Dear allI am delighted to say we can resume worshipping together from this Sunday 5th July. There will be 2 services, at 9.15am and 10.30am . Things won't be the same as before - not at the moment anyway - the attached letter explains everything in detail. If there's something I haven't explained please do ask me and I'll do my best to answer any queries you might have.There are 2 very important points to note. To start off I do need people to book in to a service by phone or e mail giving the information requested in the letter to ensure I can accommodate those who want to worship safely in the building.Secondly, some of you, for a variety of reasons will not feel safe or able to return to worshipping in church yet. Please do not feel guilty or bad about this at all and continue to pray at home as you have been doing so far. The online services will continue but in a different format and rather than sending them out on Friday or Saturday as I have been doing up until now, they will be coming later on Sunday after the church services.I look forward to seeing some of you again on Sunday and worshipping with you and we shall hold those unable to join us in our prayers and with our love.Tracy x
