12th August 2020
Re-opening of Church Services
Sunday 16th August 2020, 11am Glascar & 12.30pm Donaghmore.
Please bring along your own face covering unless you are below 13 or have some health reason for not wearing one. For further information please read Congregational letter below.
Rev Raymond McKibbin
Dear Member
Without doubt the situation the church has undergone these past months has been unprecedented, as it has been for the rest of the world.
As things begin to ease the Kirk Session have been working on how we can enable our church family to gather again safely within the guidelines issued by PCI and the NI Executive.
We have set a provisional date of Sunday 30th August but are trying to have things in place to resume on the 16th August at the normal church times in the individual churches, 11am in Glascar and 12:30pm in Donaghmore. We are not having any joint services this year for obvious reasons.
However, when we do meet things will look and feel quite a bit different just as they do in all other areas of life under Covid 19.
Arriving at church.
We will have to abide by the two metre social distancing guidelines at all times. We will be parking as normal, but try to keep 2 metres from others getting out of cars and making your way to the church building.
If there is a queue at the door of the church, hang back ensuring again 2 metres. There will be signage at the doors on the ground and in the church.
Only one person or family who are living together can be in the vestibule at the one time. An usher will be at the door to ensure the smooth running of entering the church for a few weeks until we get into the way of the procedures. Upon entering the vestibule of the church please use the hand sanitizer provided.
Wait at the door from vestibule into church until guided by another indoor usher to your seat. There will be no hymn books, Bibles or announcement sheets to avoid unnecessary handling of items.
Inside the sanctuary
To ensure 2 metres distance between members we have to rope of every other pew. Do not sit in any pew that has been roped off.
The usher will guide you to a pew. Unfortunately it is unlikely to be your normal pew , we appreciate your cooperation and understanding in regards to this. The pew will have four signs on it, two green ticks and two red x’s The green tick indicates where you can sit and the red x where you cannot sit, (unless you are a family living/bubbling together in which case you can sit on all the seats in that pew. But it is essential that you all arrive together otherwise you will have to be seated in the next available seat as you will be unable to pass others.) The green ticks are two metres apart. Take the furthest seat available from the aisle. Unfortunately we have to remove the cushions from the pews.
We will be implementing a system of filling from the front to the back. (It is slightly more complicated with some seats in Glascar but we have worked out a system). This minimises having to pass people in such narrow aisles. Please do not stop on the aisles to talk to others.
Please feel free to wear a face coving if it makes you feel more relaxed. The ushers will be wearing face coverings as they may not always be able to ensure two metres distance from others.
The hall will remain closed and the toilet in the church will be available for emergencies only. There will be hand sanitizer at the door of the toilet, please use it when entering and exiting the toilet. If you do need to use the facilities in an emergency please use cleaning material to wipe down anything you have touched.
I will be taking a photo of the congregation just prior to service commencing in order to register who is in attendance for contact tracing should someone subsequently develop symptoms of Covid 19. We can then contact those in attendance. Hopefully that will never happen!
As for the service itself, the service will be shorter and there may be some singing, one verse of a hymn to open and one verse of a hymn to close sung very quietly while seated. There will be no freewill offering in the service. A collection plate will be on a table in the vestibule or you are encouraged to use online giving. There will be no children’s church, or readers. The children will remain in their seats for the children’s talk. There will be no resumption of organisations or use of church facilities until further notice.
Leaving the church.
As we filled from front to back on entering we will be exiting from the back to the front. Again, this minimises having to pass people in such narrow aisles.
Please do not stop on the aisles to talk going out and also remember to use the hand sanitizer on the way out.
I know this is so alien to us as a church family but due to the current circumstances we would ask people to arrive take their seat as soon as possible and leave as soon as possible without any congregating either in the church or in the car park.
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These are the guidelines issued by PCI. We are not permitted to open unless all is in order and we are complying with the guidelines. Neither will our insurers provide cover if we are not implementing the guidelines.
We ask for your patience and understanding as we try to work our way through all of these. We all want our normal worship to resume as soon as possible. But our chief concern is to keep our church family safe.
Hopefully once we get into the way of the system we will no longer require so many ushers. Also if the guidelines change then we too will change. We will also keep all our procedures under review to see if they are working or how we can improve or change any way that makes worship any easier.
We all have a responsibility to adhere to the guidelines to keep one another safe. Do not attend church if you or a family member is feeling unwell. While gathered in church, remember the health advice to catch it, bin it, kill it. Avoid as much as possible the touching of door handles or pews etc.
We will still be providing online services and cd’s for those unable to attend.
Acts 20:28 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
God Bless
Rev McKibbin
July 2020
5th July 2020
Good morning everyone.
Just to update you were we are at regarding the resumption of gathering in the church for worship. This will be a long message so please bear with me.
These past three months have been unprecedented. It has been a truly difficult time.
However we are beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel.
PCI has issued guidelines in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Executive medical advice.
We as a joint session have been working through those guidelines (that have kept changing) which has been difficult.
These guidelines have resulted in a 25 point action checklist that we have to implement before we can gather in the buildings.
Once we have the checklist completed it goes to Presbytery to be signed off, and only once signed off that we have all in place can we begin to gather in a group.
Our insurance company has informed us the we will have no cover to open if we have not in place all that is required from the denomination.
It is a very complicated process, and rightly so as if not implemented correctly could cost someone their life.
We as two sessions take our responsibility very seriously especially in the light of the general demographic of or two congregations.
At our previous meetings we had hoped to open towards the middle/end of July but we were unaware how detailed and complex the requirements from PCI were.
After consulting with the clerk of Presbytery last week he informed us that several presbyteries in PCI were going to wait until September as churches are usually quiet over the summer and it would allow them to see if there is a spike in the community after the general opening of all places of hospitality.
He also highlighted that several Churches in our Presbytery were waiting until either September or late August.
We debated whether to wait to September, but we felt that was too far away, and that if we went for the middle of August then we can have all in place to get us the green light to gather.
This also would allow us to see over the next few weeks how the infection rate goes.
The Sessions also agreed to suspend this year our normal joint services to help prevent cross contamination.
Also I must warn you that we are unlikely to be returning anytime soon to what we would regard as a “normal” gathering together.
Even when we open the building again in August it will be very different and will remain so for the foreseeable future as the authorities expect another spike in the winter.
It is important therefore that we proceed cautiously and get this right.
We a session are as frustrated as you all, please bear with us as we try to get this right. We care for you all too much to take it lightly.
We have seen what happens in our care homes when you don’t cross the T’s and dot the I’s.
Session is meeting individually this week again and we hope to have both committees meet the following week to try and organise how we implement the guidelines.
All these decisions are subject to change in light of the ever changing situation.
I know it’s not the news that many of you wanted to hear, and I’m truly sorry for that, but let us remember the words of Solomon the wise
Proverbs 21:5
The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty
Let us too proceed with caution, the we will get it right. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to seek God’s guidance through this pandemic.
’Rev Raymond’
VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM THE CHURCH LEADERSHIP REGARDING CORONAVIRUS,
COVID-19
– Until further notice, all congregational organisations and activities should cease until further notice
– Until further notice, all Sunday gatherings for worship should also cease until further notice
– Until further notice, steps should be taken to ensure that numbers attending funeral services and weddings are kept as low as possible
CHURCH HOUSE GUIDANCE
1. FUNERALS
It is now strongly recommended that, until further notice:
Funerals (Graveside only) should be kept to as small a number as possible i.e. strictly immediate close family and, if necessary, a very few close friends (max of 10); again with appropriate social distancing;
There should be no public announcement of funeral arrangements;
Funeral services should no longer be held in family homes;
No gatherings for refreshments in Church Halls should be held, and gatherings in homes should be discouraged;
Those who fall within the government’s listed categories of persons who should self-isolate for a period of 12 weeks, should not attend – this includes ministers in these categories, who should not officiate at funeral services.
2. WEDDINGS
It is strongly recommended that ministers advise couples, who have planned to be married in their church building (or indeed at another venue) over the coming period, to give serious consideration to deferring their wedding service. If for some exceptional reason it is felt that a wedding must go ahead attendance should be kept as small as possible – ideally considering having only the absolute legal minimum present, of bride, groom, two witnesses and minister.
3. BAPTISM
It is strongly recommended that baptisms do not take place unless there is a specific emergency situation in which ministers should use their own discretion.
4. FREE WILL OFFERING
In light of the current Coronavirus pandemic it is uncertain when congregations will be able to meet again, but it may not be before the end of June 2020. This is likely to impact on a congregation’s regular income.
It is hoped that congregations will encourage members, if they are able, to continue with their regular giving e.g. through standing order or making direct electronic bank transfers. If this is not possible, members should be asked to continue to fill up their envelopes on a regular basis and put these on the offering plate when the current restrictions are lifted.
Clerk of the General Assembly
(To facilitate electronic Free Will Offering the treasurers have included the churches account details on the church website under “GIVE” in the main menu. If you need help with this please contact (Glascar) Mr Lloyd Toal 07715592225 or (Donaghmore.) Mr Andrew Skillen 02830261795