Joan’s Jottings – Worship Update

Our church leaders for Landseer Road, Museum Street and Chanty Methodist churches met together on Wednesday to discuss our plans for worship and when to begin in-person worship. We have been hearing different perspectives from our members. Some of you are saying that having come this far, you will wait until you have had your second vaccine plus three weeks before you return to church. Others, particularly those living alone, would like us to return as quickly as possible. And others wish to wait until we can more freely talk to one another after the service.  With that and more in mind, we prayerfully came up with a plan. It is, however, still a plan, and could change if infection rates start to climb as lockdown eases, or other pertinent information comes to light. Our plan is summarized here and there is a chart at the bottom of this post. Please do not feel pressured to return or to attend any events that are outside of your comfort zone.

• We will have two joint in-person worship services:
  * Good Friday at Landseer Road at 10 a.m.
  * Easter Day at Museum Street at 10.30 a.m. with Holy Communion
• We will re-open for in-person worship at all three churches on the first Sunday in May.
• We will experiment with livestreaming the Easter Day service so those unable to attend and have computers will be able to watch it live. Success not guaranteed!
• We have several people willing to offer lifts to LR on Good Friday and MS on Easter Day. Please let me know if you would like a lift and we will try to arrange one.
• Our weekly Zoom Worship will cease at the end of April.
• The Circuit Video Services and Circuit Printed Services will continue.

In-person services will still be subject to the government restrictions which include no communal singing. We hope that singing might be allowed after 21^st June, but this is unclear in the current government documentation. We will follow those rules plus any guidance that comes from the Methodist Church. The amount of social interaction permitted after the service depends upon the government rules for indoor and outdoor mixing that are in force on any date.   

Here is a list of our planned worship services in chart form. (Correct at 30/3/2021)