May 23rd 2020
Dear Parishioners,
Reopening of Church for Private Prayers
I am delighted to announce that we are working towards reopening the church in the coming weeks. We do not have a date yet, but we would have to be prepared. When that happens, we would be permitted to open just for private prayer until further advised.
We have received strict guidance from the Diocese regarding processes we need to follow, to ensure the safety of everyone entering the church. With that in mind, we will open, when the time comes, for a number of sessions across each week (Dates and times to be announced).
As you would expect, the guidance we have received includes managing the space (closing off some areas, creating one way routes for entering and exiting and, of course, thorough cleaning after each session. To enable this to happen we need the assistance of the people of our parish. Below is an outline of the volunteer roles we will need to organise:
- Stewards
- Cleaning crews
The Stewards
The Steward will be present throughout each session (probably 2 hours) to manage and monitor safe movement of people in and out of the church, to guide all those present and to ensure that the process is followed properly. I am anticipating a minimum of 3 Stewards will be required, operating on a rota system.
The Cleaning Crews
Cleaning crews will move in at the end of each session to clean the areas where people will have likely touched, sat etc. I am anticipating 3 crews consisting of 3 – 5 people per crew operating on a rota system.
As you can see, we need quite a number of volunteers to help if we are to open the church. For obvious reasons, volunteers must not be those in the ‘at risk’ category.
If you would like to volunteer, or if you would like to know more, please contact Barbara Bryant on 07881 460024 or Brid Vaughan on 07540 013181.
Many thanks and God bless
Fr Joe
Our Lady of Peace 