'The J C Squad' is the new name for our Sunday School, and it's running again this term at 10.30am, on a similar basis to the sessions we've had before, with the children and their leaders in the main church hall and Covid precautions in place.Children can rejoin their parents in church at the end of the main service and often share with the whole congregation something of what they've been doing that day.
Services at St John's - here's what to expect when you come:1. It isn’t quite the same as our services were before lockdown. It’s still not advisable to do hugging, hand-shaking or sitting close together (except for family and ‘bubble’ groups) – but we are singing again. It’s not legally necessary to wear face coverings when attending a place of worship now, but we do ask that you continue to do this, and our ministers and other leaders will do so too, except when the need to be heard clearly means they can remove them. 2. We are sharing Holy Communion together, but only by receiving a wafer at present, and the bread brought to you will remain covered up while the words of thanksgiving and consecration are said over it and untouched when the president’s part of it is broken. You don’t have to participate if you don’t want to, but when it comes to receiving the bread, each communicant is advised to sanitise their hands before and after removing their face covering to receive, and before putting it on again. 3. Please remember that anyone with any sign of Covid symptoms, who is waiting for a Covid test result or has tested positive, or who lives or 'bubbles' with someone in those categories, should be self-isolating and should not enter a church building under any circumstances.4. Once you’re inside the church, the seats are already spread out but you can move them so that a family are together if you want, providing each person in that group is still 1m away from anyone not in the group. Afterwards, please return any seat you have moved to the position it originally had – but don’t touch any seat except the one you sit on yourself.5. There are two small tables at the back, with chairs, each reserved for a family group who want to let smaller children do colouring or anything else that they can bring with them to occupy them during the service (but no food, please!). Everyone who sits at either of these tables must stay at them and make sure they keep at least 2m apart from anyone else not in their group. Please book with either rodney.green17@ntlworld.com (0161 748 7238) or robert_beale@hotmail.com (0161 748 9999). There’s no creche facility, and the side chapel is still out of bounds to everyone. 6. If there’s a service sheet on your seat when you arrive, please keep it for your own use only, and at the end leave it on your seat. At the end, please leave by the door to the garden, opposite the entrance, keeping up distancing (unless you would find the steps difficult because of mobility problems: in that case, please wait until everyone else has left and then go out by the door you came in). 7. There are bowls for those who wish to make their financial contribution by cash or in envelopes (but please remember there are alternative ways of giving, too).8. There are no after-church refreshments, and the Meeting Room is not open. The vestry is open only to ministers and churchwardens. 9. Please remember that it’s better to chat in the Memorial Garden rather than inside at the end of the service.
