Announcing the Return to Public Worship [220]
Bertie here, official correspondent to the PCC, and the only journalist present last night at the pivotal PCC Meeting in which a vote happened allowing those to want to to come back to Church in person. Hear ye, hear ye…From Sunday the 28th of March (Palm Sunday) worship will be happening in person at both St Paul’s and Woosehill. (The conversation around St Nick’s and the 8am Mass will happen after Easter).
There will be a full Holy Week kept, with a precise plan to be launched after the Worship Committee meeting on Thursday evening this week.
Everything will be Livestreamed so everyone can join in. In addition to that, people are welcome to turn up to St Paul’s on Maundy Thursday at 8pm and Good Friday at 2pm and Easter Day for the Dawn Service at 6am.
In addition to that, we are using Eventbrite to reserve spaces for people for the 9.30 Service on Palm Sunday and Easter Day. (You might still be able to get into the Service if you haven’t booked in but we would rather you did so that we can be sure to maintain social distancing- if it comes to it, those who have booked will have priority). Do tell your friends and family.
https://stpaulswokingham_palmsunday2021.eventbrite.co.uk
https://stpaulswokingham_easterday2021.eventbrite.co.uk
We will aim to make Holy Week feel as much like usual as possible, although there will obviously have to be some changes and there are some things we cannot do- Palm Procession, footwashing, veneration of the Cross, congregation or even choral singing. I think that the key thing is to count the blessings we have and enjoy the chance to be in Church, for those who want to be, since we couldn’t do that last year. In fact, we weren’t even allowed in Church last year to record a service.
If you are happy to help welcome people to worship and maintain social distancing, and then clean after the services, then please can you let Teri or Louise Cole know.
This is excellent news and was a clear decision for the PCC to take. We aren’t back to normal or anything like that but it is another step back into a familiar world and, for that reason alone, whether you are comfortable coming to Church in person or not, there is cause to celebrate.
This is Bertie, signing off, at the end of an exhilerating PCC meeting. If they are always this much fun I am definitely coming again.
Yours etc,
Bertram
