Dear Friends

The process of easing the lockdown has certainly moved on at a pace since I last wrote on 12 May. Some of our team churches are now open for private prayer (and funerals) and all of our churches are currently awaiting the latest advice from the government and Church of England regarding the potential re-opening of our buildings for public worship and weddings. The earliest this could happen will be 4 July, but the important thing is that this happens safely and with the appropriate risk assessments having been done, so this may take some time yet.

My sense is that it still might be a while (that is months, not weeks) before we are anywhere near approaching a sense of normality in our public worship and occasional offices (baptisms, weddings and funerals). In the meantime, we may well choose as churches to continue with something of the alternative arrangements we have had in place during lockdown, whether on Facebook, Zoom or by email, and indeed those of us who have been experimenting digitally may well chose to continue beyond that but that is a decision for PCCs to take.

As we continue to come out of lockdown, I am very conscious that this is not going to be an easy process for many in our congregations, who may have had very limited, if any, physical contact with the outside world during these past three months. So let’s be aware that different people will be moving at different paces on the idea of coming back to church and that those who are shielding will not be able to do so before 1 August at the earliest.

Whilst lockdown has reduced physical contact for us all, it may also have increased a sense of loneliness and isolation for some. Hopefully, we have been able to address this through our church support systems but there may be those in the wider community without such structures in place. That is why I am delighted that we have been able to offer our Team Telephone Befriending Service and we already have a number of people from across our four churches who are making a weekly telephone call to others as part of this. If you would like to find out more about the scheme and might be interested in offering to help, Heather Copperwheat (the scheme co-ordinator) will be running a question and answer session on Zoom om Monday 13 July between 2-3 p.m. Please contact her at telephonebefriending@westwarringtonchurch.uk  if you would like to attend.

To finish, may I encourage us all to keep praying for those seeking to develop a vaccine for the virus, those people caring for those with it, as well as those who are grieving for loved ones who have died from it. As we continue to embark on our journeys into the new normal, let us remember that God is with is always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28: 20).

Stay safe and go well.                        

Jeremy Tear, Pioneer Team Rector