Christ Church

Attending Christ Church during COVID19

What to Expect!

Christ Church will continue to stream a 10am Sunday Service through YouTube.

For those who wish to attend Morning Worship, this will be possible from Sunday 6th September, but it will have to be different from the Services we are used to. It will be much shorter than usual, with no hymns and a short, ‘thought for the day’ rather than a sermon. This is to reduce the congregational time at which you are at risk from coronavirus.

If you wish to come to the service, please be aware of the following:

Before you arrive:

• We can only accommodate 23 people, so we will ask you to book ahead to avoid disappointment. You can book by calling 01924 263311 on a Thursday morning 9am-12 and leaving your name, number of seats and contact number.

• If more than 23 people wish to attend each week, we will have to operate a rota system. This is fairer than ‘first come first served’.

• When you book, we will take some contact details. These will be kept for 3 weeks after the service and given to Track and Trace if someone from the service later tests positive for coronavirus. They won’t be used for any other reason and if they are not needed for this purpose, they will be securely disposed of after 3 weeks.

• Consider your own risk of attending an indoor gathering. While we will be taking a number of steps to keep you safe, we cannot make this risk-free. You might want to look at the NHS guidance on whether you are at higher risk of coronavirus and be guided by their advice: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/people-at-higher-risk/whos-at-higher-risk-from-coronavirus/

• You MUST NOT attend the service if you have any symptoms of Covid-19: EG: A new cough; or a temperature; or a lost sense of smell or taste; or a new rash; (or any combination of these symptoms).

• You should wear a face mask while you are in Church, but masks are not a replacement for good social distancing, hand hygiene, and self-isolating if you have symptoms. Face coverings protect others from your germs – so if everyone wears one, we are all safer. Wearing a mask is a personal sacrifice to protect others.

When you arrive

• You must enter through the main door (facing Horbury Road). You must not enter through the North door (back door).

• The door will open 15 minutes before the service. Before that you will need to wait on the church path. 2 metre markings will be displayed to help you stay a safe distance from others in the queue.

• Please ensure that you are wearing your face mask, there will be a limited number available for those who forget to bring their own.

• The Steward will let people into the building in households/bubbles. You will be asked to sanitise your hands-on arrival, then go immediately to a seat in church as directed by the steward. The next household/bubble can then be let in.

• The seats in church will be arranged at 2m intervals from each other. We ask you to go straight to your allocated seat and remain there for the duration of the service.

• Once in your seat, you need to remain there until the end of the service. Please do not call across the church to others – raised voices increase aerosol droplet spread.

• Gentle music will be playing to help you pray as you wait for the service to begin.

• The Main door and the North door (back door) will be open throughout the service to increase ventilation so it may be cool.

• Unfortunately, we cannot provide tissues, so please bring your own.

During the Service

• The words you need for the service will be projected on the screen. There will be no books or service sheets.

• Due to risk of aerosol droplet spread, there will be no singing during the service.

• We ask that when you are saying the responses that you speak quietly and prayerfully – again to reduce risk of aerosol droplet spread.

At the end of the service

• After the service leader has left, the Steward will indicate when you should leave. Please wait for the Steward to ask you to leave.

• Please take your possessions home with you. Items left will need to be quarantined for 72 hours.

• Please do not stop to chat while leaving the building. Please do not block other people’s exit from the building. You are welcome to talk in small groups of not more than 6 in the Church and Parish Centre grounds. Please remember to stay 2m apart from people from other households.

• If you test positive for coronavirus up to three weeks after the service, please let us know.

• At this time, we are unable to provide drinks or any refreshments so the Parish Centre will be closed, this will include access to the toilets.

A new landscape

Although these restrictions are required by law, that’s not why they are in place. Ask yourself this question: “How much of my personal comfort would I sacrifice if it meant that my family would live?” That’s why these restrictions are in place. If anyone coming to church has the virus, (and does not yet know that they have it), these restrictions minimise the risk of them passing the virus on to our Church Family.

Adhering to the restrictions requires a personal sacrifice (from everyone) for the sake of others – and we do so willingly as disciples of Jesus who sacrificed everything for us.

Christ Church Parish Office:

• christchurchsouthosset@gmail.com

• Tel: 01924 263311

All contact details taken for Coronavirus tracking will be kept and disposed of in compliance with GDP requirements.

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