Latest Advice
20th March 2020
A message from Newbold Parish Church Rector Ben Griffiths
17th March 2020
In light of the Government guidance around non-essential contact, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have issued advice that public worship is suspended until further notice.
This means that we will have no services in church until this suspension is lifted. We are planning to open church at specific times for private prayer, taking care to follow NHS guidelines on cleanliness and social distancing. Details to follow.
We continue to follow the Church of England Advice (with local contextual nuances). This can be found here:
https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-churches
Our latest church news can be found here:
Church Extra Notice sheet:
Coronavirus Update 15th March
The advice from the Church of England regarding COVID-19 is as follows:
Good hygiene practices should be followed including washing hands thoroughly with warm soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds, carrying tissues and catching coughs/sneezes and then binning the tissue, regular use of hand sanitiser.
If you are unwell, i.e. persistent cough, raised temperature, please follow NHS guidance and refrain from attending church until you are well again.
In addition, specific procedures for churches are as follows:
· The Common Chalice/Cup has now been suspended on advice of the Archbishops. Taking communion in one kind is a full and valid communion and the priest thoroughly washes their hands and uses hand gel prior to handling the host.
· The sharing of the peace by physical contact is currently suspended.
· Blessings will still take place, however the physical laying on of hands is currently suspended.
· There will be no passing of collection plates during the service. Donations are to be made into the single plate at the back of church (either before or after the service).
· Refreshments after the service will be coffee and tea only (i.e. no food stuffs) and given in paper cups which are to be discarded after use (they are compostable so environmental impact minimal).
We recognise that there remains a lot of uncertainty and fear at the moment. Hopefully the measures we are taking will help alleviate some of this anxiety, whilst not exacerbating it. Thanks for your co-operation: do speak to Ben, Rhoda, or the wardens with any queries.