The local benefice have taken the unfortunate decision to stop public worship in all churches across the benefice, effective immediately.
Further information can be found below in a letter from Rev Barry Jackson.
Reverend Barry Jackson
Rector of Combroke, Kineton, Radway, Ratley, Shotteswell & Warmington The Vicarage,
Warwick Rd, Kineton Warwick CV35 0HW Tel: 01926 640248
Dear Friends,
On Monday night Boris Johnson spelled out the severity of the situation for the country, as the virus (and particularly the new variant) continues to spread rapidly. The latest estimates are that 1 in 50 people in private households in England has the virus and 1 in 30 in London. The government say that more than 1 million people are currently infected and the numbers of patients in hospitals 40% higher than in the first peak.
At midnight on Tuesday the country went into its 3rd lockdown, but in a change from the last 2 lockdowns the government has chosen not to suspend public worship in England. Instead, it’s being left to parish clergy and their PCCs to determine whether we can continue to offer a safe environment for people to gather.
The fact that we are being left with the option to open indicates that the government recognises the benefits of gathering in Covid secure ways; our services not only help people’s spiritual wellbeing, but also for their emotional and mental wellbeing. Because of the measures we have taken, the risks of catching or transmitting the virus in church are minimal; people are far more at risk in going to the supermarket or a local shop. However, there is still a risk, and this is an additional risk to those that we are already having to take. In life it is never possible to eliminate all risks, but we need to be careful.
I am also aware that I am most likely to be a ‘vector of transmission’; with funerals, ministry to the dying, pastoral and hospital visiting, I am more likely to be exposed to the virus, and I am the one travelling between the villages taking services! I was particularly conscious of this last Sunday when I took a service in Radway; watching the way our breath rolls out in a mist in a cold church, highlights the way that our breath aerosols and hangs in the air, potentially spreading infection. It does this whatever the temperature, but it is a lot more visible in this cold weather.
On top of this we have the uncertainty of this new variant, where the possibility of transmission is higher and we don’t know if the measures taken for the original virus, will be as effective against the new variant.
With all this in mind I met with leaders from across the benefice this evening to explore various options for how we might continue.
Having discussed it and weighed up many different options we decided 4 things…
- Everyone was in agreement that we should stop public worship in churches across the benefice at this time.
- We agreed that our churches will continue to be open for personal prayer and we will continue to offer services and prayer online. Full details of these offerings, plus some of the Coventry diocese and Church of England initiatives are at the end of this letter.
- The meeting also felt that it was important to bolster our pastoral care in the parishes, especially among those who will struggle to access the online content. Alex Williams did a great job of setting up a pastoral network across the benefice to plug these gaps in the first lockdown, but we need to revisit and revitalise that network.
- We also agreed to have regular reviews to decide when it would be right to open our churches again. We agreed to set up a review panel with one representative from each parish. The government have said they will review the current measures in week commencing 15th Feb, so we decided to meet later in that week to review the position regarding services. However, we
also felt that it would be good to have a meeting at the end of January, to get a feel of the direction we are heading.
I know that some people will be disappointed in the decisions we have taken, but with the increasing infections across the nation we feel it is better to be cautious.
Richard Cooke shared an anecdote about a time when leaving midnight Christmas communion, he decided to walk back to the village down the slope and steps to the north of the church. These steps are very steep and can be slippery even in the best of weather. He made his way down the icy steps extremely cautiously and breathed a huge sigh of relief when he got to the bottom… then he slipped and fell! We are so close to the roll out of a vaccine, it is all too easy for us to lower our guard, be careless about safe practices and increase the risk of spreading the virus. As we have throughout this pandemic, we need to continue to care for each other and take all the precautions we can to ensure that our churches don’t become places where the virus gets transmitted.
With the vaccine being rolled out, there is a strong light at the end of the tunnel, and I look forward to being able to gather in church and sing together again, but I am mindful that whilst this is in sight it is still a long way off so we must be careful not to let our guard down.
If you have any concerns or questions about any of the above, please do contact me.
Similarly, if you or anyone in your community needs help, please let me know, or ask them to contact me. Our foodbank, babybank and GIFT (furniture recycling and more) projects continue to support people in the area. Also, our new course, Finding a Job You Love, is delivered by top career management professionals from Warwick Business School, and is aimed at helping people who are facing an uncertain future due to furlough, redundancy or changes in the workplace that mean they are unhappy.
Please continue to hold our NHS, our schools, our government, our local businesses, and our communities in your prayers.
God Bless,
Rev Barry Jackson
Rector of the Edgehill Churches