Return to Public Worship – Sunday 9 August - 09/08/20

Dear Friends

I am very pleased to be able to let you know that the Priory will be open for public worship from Sunday August 9th.

We will have to observe Government requirements as well as the guidance from the Church of England, and recognise that it will be some time before we can return to things as they were.

I am aware that many people have found the live-streaming of services to be a life-line during this challenging period, so we will continue to do this for daily Morning Prayer at 9.30, as we have been doing, for the foreseeable future.

In order to accommodate everyone who wishes to attend we will changing the pattern of Sunday services. From August there will be

08.00 am Holy Communion BCP service,
10.00 am Priory Eucharist with sermon (live streamed)
11.30 am Holy Communion (Common Worship).

There will also be the 10.15 Holy Communion (BCP) service on Tuesdays.

Services will last no more than 45 minutes and there will be no choir or congregational singing until we are advised that this is safe and possible.

For the 10.00 am and 11.30 am services pre-booking is required as numbers will be limited in order to observe 2 metres social distancing.  Bookings should be made by 6.00 pm Saturday evening.  We will try to accommodate anyone who arrives without making a booking but it may not always be possible.

In order to comply with Track and Trace requirements we will need to collect your contact details when you attend a service. To comply with data protection regulations, we will destroy this information after 21 days. However, if you develop symptoms of Covid-19 within this period, you must let us know, and all others who were present with you will be contacted and told to self-isolate for 14 days.

Booking arrangements are as follows:

Do book online if you are able to do so, using the following website:

https://www.trybooking.co.uk

If you cannot use the internet please contact us by phone on 07713 981372.– leave a message and this will be checked daily.

When you arrive at church please observe social distancing if there is a queue.  Please use the hand sanitizer which will be available and wear a mask or face covering when entering and leaving the church.  You will be shown to your seat by a sidesperson.
Orders of Service will be available on the website to download from the previous Thursday and you can follow the service on your phone or tablet.  Some service sheets will be available for you to pick up but you must take them away afterwards. Activity packs will be provided for children and these should also be taken home after the service. No books or toys will be available for children.

Please do not move around the church unless directed to do so and please ensure that children stay with their family group.  If you need to access the toilets please observe the instructions on the toilet doors regarding wiping down surfaces, taps and door handles.

For receiving Holy Communion, this will be offered in one kind only, (only the priest receiving the chalice). You will be directed to the chancel steps by the sidesperson.  We will not be using the communion rails, but the communion wafer will be placed into your hands whilst standing. Please keep a 2 metre social distance and return to your seat via the side aisle.

At the end of the service, we will invite the congregation to leave, starting with the back pews first.  We ask that you do not congregate inside the church at all. We are sorry but it will not be possible to have refreshments after the service, you can gather outside the church to greet friends if you wish.

We realise that this sounds quite daunting but I am sure we will become used to this new way of working very soon.  If you have any concerns at all, please get in touch and we will do our best to help.

Chris, Andrew, and Pauline

The Revd Canon Chris Newlands, Vicar of Lancaster,
Andrew Nicholson, Dame Pauline Fielding (Churchwardens)