Most churches hope for Holy Week reopening
MOST church doors will remain closed until stage three of the exit from lockdown, which it is hoped will be just in time for Easter.
Under the current guidance in stage two, gatherings of up to 20 people are permitted in indoor public spaces, as long as they are socially distanced from those not in their extended household bubble.
This means, with rigorous cleaning and limited numbers, churches could reopen to the public, although attendees would not be allowed to sing.
One which will be opening soon once cleaning materials arrive, and a rota has been finalised for someone to welcome people in, is St Joseph’s.
Parish priest and Catholic Dean of the Bailiwick Father Chris Rutledge confirmed that the doors to the church would be open to the public soon, with someone on the door in a mask making sure everyone who goes in for private prayer has their contact details recorded in case contact tracing is necessary.
‘We are still looking at how we would go forward with public prayer after that,’ he said.
However, a significant number of churches will not open for at least another two weeks.
According to the exit from lockdown framework, a move to stage three [the Bailiwick bubble] cannot take place until at least 14 days after the move to stage two.
Anglican Dean the Very Rev. Tim Barker said that, all being well, this means churches would be able to reopen for public worship in time for Holy Week and Easter.
‘Many churches will continue with online provision for a little bit longer until we can resume public worship in a normal way, which we hope to do in a couple of weeks,’ he said.
He believed there were three key reasons as to why the majority of churches planned to keep their doors shut longer.
One was the reduced number who could gather inside, another was that holy communion services were still prohibited, and the other was that singing is not allowed due to how the virus spreads.
‘All throughout the pandemic we have been conscious not to do anything that would risk spreading the virus, but we would be delighted to be able to welcome people back into public worship in time for Holy Week and Easter, which is the most important time in the Christian year.’
