Christ Church Thornton

Dear Church Community,

This evening the Prime Minister shared the concerning news about the rise in hospital admissions due to Coronavirus and its variant. We are entering a further national lockdown (subject to the parliamentary procedures).

The document outlining all the restrictions is at " https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/949536/NationalLockdownGuidance.pdf ".

The surprising and good news is that attending a place of worship for communal worship is still permissible. I just wanted to share this with you as soon as possible. This is what the information says:

"Communal worship and life events - You can leave home to attend or visit a place of worship for communal worship, a funeral or event related to a death, a burial ground or a remembrance garden, or to attend a wedding ceremony. You should follow the guidance on the safe use of places of worship and must not mingle with anyone outside of your household or support bubble when attending a place of worship."

I will let you know if the national Church of England or the Diocese of Blackburn have further comment on this.

If you have booked to come this coming Sunday but in light of the news feel no longer comfortable in doing so, that's no problem. Just get in touch to cancel your booking.

If you are in the shielding category or another category where you are advised to stay at home, then I would encourage you to follow that advice for your own protection. But the choice ultimately is yours. It's a fine balance (and for some a crisis) between looking after our mental health, our spiritual health and our physical health. The key factor is to ensure we don't put others at risk or inadvertently put ourselves at risk.

We will as a leadership team at Christ Church look afresh at our risk assessments and all our health, hygiene and safety arrangements and make further improvements where we can.

And we will of course continue to live stream as much of our worship as possible, as well seeking to provide other options such as DVDs and audio CDs for those without an internet connection. On this matter, I would ask if there are people who might be able to help in this field, please do get in touch. For example, if you have a computer with a disc drive and would be happy to burn some audio CDs or video DVDs.

Lastly, if you are in a situation where you feel unsafe to travel to purchase food or cannot arrange food deliveries because of the sudden surge in others doing so (especially those who are shielding), please don't hesitate to get in touch for the family at Christ Church to help.

With much prayer and best wishes, especially for those suffering and for those serving those who are suffering.

God bless,

Damian

Christ Church Thornton

News and notices

4 January 2021 Government Announcement