The Archbishops of Canterbury and York are calling for Church of England churches to put public worship on hold and become a “different sort of church” in the coming months to face the challenge of coronavirus.

In a joint letter, Archbishops Justin Welby and John Sentamu said it was now necessary to put public services on hold until further notice.

But they said that far from having to “shut up shop”, the Church of England must face the challenge by becoming a radically different kind of church rooted in prayer and serving others.

It comes after the Government announced unprecedented peacetime measures to try to control the spread of the virus, with restrictions on public gatherings, transport and working.

The Archbishops expressed the desire that church buildings may, where practical, remain open as places of prayer for the community, observing social distancing recommendations.

They also invited clergy to maintain the ancient pattern of daily prayer and, where possible, the eucharist – live streaming their worship if they have the resources to do so.

And they urged congregations to be in the forefront of providing practical care and support for the most poor and the most vulnerable during the crisis.

“Being a part of the Church of England is going to look very different in the days ahead,” they wrote.

“Our life is going to be less characterised by attendance at church on Sunday, and more characterised by the prayer and service we offer each day.

“We may not be able to pray with people in the ways that we are used to, but we can certainly pray for people. And we can certainly offer practical care and support. 

“Please do carry on supporting the local foodbank and buy extra provisions for it.  Ensure the night shelters wherever possible are kept open.  There are many very encouraging schemes happening right across our country in communities to focus on caring for the most vulnerable and do continue to play your part in those.

“Then by our service, and by our love,  Jesus Christ will be made known, and the hope of the gospel – a hope that can counter fear and isolation – will spread across our land.”

They added: “This is a defining moment for the Church of England. Are we truly are a church for all, or just the church for ourselves.

“We urge you sisters and brothers to become a different sort of church in these coming months: hopeful and rooted in the offering of prayer and praise and overflowing in service to the world.”

In an unprecedented move, church leaders came together on Wednesday 1st April. The morning video conference included senior religious leaders from around Britain and Ireland who shared the situation in each of their jurisdictions. The initiative originated with Archbishop Justin Welby who wanted to offer an opportunity for leaders to hear and support one another in these critical days for our nations.

The statement is supported by churches in membership of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, along with Churches Together in England, Cytun, ACTS and the Irish Council of Churches.

In the Book of Daniel we read about God’s people being taken into exile in Babylon. Daniel could not pray in the Temple in Jerusalem, but he continued to pray in exile – opening his window to face Jerusalem. Though he was on his own he joined with the prayers of the people wherever they were. Now we too are separated from each other physically, but when we pray in our homes we join in with this ancient tradition of our home as a place of prayer. Wherever we are, whenever we pray, when we speak and think of Christ, there he is in the midst of us. We join our prayers with all those who pray in our own churches and communities and around the world.

As church leaders from across the many and varied churches of these Islands we urge all people to join us in prayer this Holy Week and Easter; to pray for those who suffer, those who face untimely death and all those who care for them; to celebrate our common faith at a difficult time; to help and support our neighbours in need; and to observe all the safeguards in place to slow the spread of disease.

Our Prayer

Loving God, in Jesus Christ, who died and rose again for our salvation, cast out the darkness of our anxiety, fear and mourning, enfold us in your love and give us joy and hope this Easter.

Amen.

If you would like a copy of the complete press release from British and Irish Church leaders united in response to Covid 19 pandemic, please email parishoffice@christchurchswindon.co.uk.

Following advice from both the government and from the Church of England we have, sadly, had to take the decision to suspend all public services in Christ Church and St Mary’s for the foreseeable future.

We intend to hold closed services each week and will record them for our website. You can hear last weeks service here.

Please do read the encouraging letter from our Bishop Viv

If you are feeling isolated and vulnerable throughout this health crisis and need some practical or spiritual support, or if you know of someone in the community who may need some help, please do get in touch with myself, any member of the staff team or leave a message with the Parish Office (01793 522832) and we will see how we are able to help.

Please be assured of our friendship, prayers and support.  In our anxiety may we know God’s healing presence, love, and strength. Above all may we be sustained through renewed Christian hope looking out for each other as we approach Easter.

Every blessing 

Simon 

18th March 2020
Dear friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ

The Church is Changing
As the Archbishops wrote yesterday ‘Being part of the Church of England is going to look very different in the days ahead. Our life is going to be less characterised by attendance at church on Sunday and more characterised by the prayer and service we offer each day’.

Bristol Cathedral tweeted a great summary ‘The Church is not closed. The Church is changing’ as it committed to keeping its nave open (with chairs at least 2 metres apart) and live steaming some services. Public worship has stopped, but a wave of prayer and service has begun.

Already our clergy and church communities are responding. You are offering pastoral support by phone (as the Mothers’ Union has done for years). You are providing prayers and orders of service on line and printed (so all of us can pray at home). You are using Facebook for local coordination, YouTube for broadcasting and Zoom for meeting. What I have seen in a few hours is your ingenuity, skill and humour. Thank you. The Archdeacons will continue to update you with advice from the national advice. Do contact them with your questions about practicalities. And please also continue to find ways of working which fit the lives of your local communities and your people.

We have been given particular priorities by the Archbishops
Firstly, keep praying. If you can do that in church (following the strict protocols about hygiene) please do so. I will (as usual) be praying Morning Prayer each weekday at 0830, and praying for you, your parishes, for our diocese and our world using the Diocesan Prayer cycle. Today my prayers are particularly for those working in the NHS, those running businesses and those who are losing their jobs. Do email me with particular concerns as these emerge.

Secondly, support others praying, especially those who are self-isolating. Do pass on the links to resources, particularly this week for Mothering Sunday, with the request for everyone to place a lighted candle in their window at 7.00 pm as a sign of the light of Christ which will never be extinguished. Let’s learn the importance of praying at home, or down the phone, or via email. Let’s re-create the life of micro communities, our streets and our near neighbours.

Thirdly, plan practical support for those who are most in need. Local Foodbanks are low on supplies. How can you help replenish these? When schools do shut, what can you plan for those children who will go hungry? If your church offers shelter at night, thank you, and please do continue (following local advice). If you discover other urgent needs which need coordination at Deanery or Diocesan level, do let your Area Dean know.
And fourthly, do look after yourselves. You will have your own concerns for your families and friends, and your own fears about the future. My experience of ministering in difficult times is that each of us needs to attend to those concerns, talk them through with those you trust, and take time and find ways to work these through. The Area Deans, Archdeacons and I will continue to be in touch by phone, but please do ring my office if that would help. I was delighted that Bishop Lee was able to join our staff meeting yesterday via Zoom and he is well enough now to offer phone support.

The Church of God has depths of wisdom. We continue our journey through Lent following Jesus who isolated himself in the desert and emerging stronger from the demands of those 40 days. We know the stories of the earliest Christians living in acute political and economic uncertainty and through these times deepened their faith in the Christ who died, has risen and who will come again. Our own people have endured times of pandemic illness and have emerged from the shaking of social foundations with new life and with hope.

Throughout my ministry I have carried in my cassock pocket a hazelnut (I think I am now on my tenth) to remind me of Julian’s vision of the tiny hazelnut in the palm of her hand, and of God’s love for the world held which ‘lasts and lasts for ever because God loves it’. Julian self-isolated herself during a time of pandemic and from that isolation wrote of the assurance she had been given that “God said not ‘Thou shalt not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailed, thou shalt not be dis-eased’, but he said, ‘Thou shalt not be overcome.” May we, too, notice tiny details of God’s re-creative care for us and the world. May we journey together in these tempestuous and dis-eased times confident in Christ in whom all shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.
Yours in Christ

Bishop Viv

Read the notes from the last Old Town Partnership Focus Group meeting

Read the notes from the last Buildings Committee Meeting