Returning to Worship at Kempston East

We are pleased to announce that Kempston East will reopen for face-to-face worship from Sunday 4th April at 10:30am.

• There will not be an Agape Service, or Easter Sunday 8am communion to ensure that the church is un-used for 72 hours before any service.
• We will continue to livestream worship via Zoom for those who feel uncomfortable about coming to face-to-face worship, and the service will continue to be uploaded to the church website.

The following precautions must be followed by all people who attend:

• Face coverings must be worn (unless you are covered by a government exemption)
• You must sanitise your hands on arrival and there will be no using of hymn books, bibles or other shared resources. You should also avoid touching key touch points like door handles.
• There will be no communal singing. We will have soloists singing from the front.
• There must be absolutely no conversation in the church before, after or during worship. We will be opening the door only ten minutes prior to the worship beginning, so any conversations should take place outside at a safe 2m distance. Please take care about the impression you give to passers-by, ensuring you are obviously maintaining social distance and not interacting with more than one other person or mixing with people outside your household or support bubbles.
• You should maintain a safe 2m distance from all other people outside of your household/bubble group. (Alternate rows will be closed off, and two empty chairs should be kept between you and any other household or bubble group sitting in the same row).
• The windows and doors will remain open during worship to ensure the place is well ventilated, so please dress appropriately to avoid being cold.
• Please follow the one way system using the centre aisle to move to the front (towards the worship area) and the side rows to move to the back (where the sound desk is).

You are also reminded that should you feel unwell with Covid-19 symptoms, which can be any of the following:

• A high temperature
• A persistent cough
• A loss or change to your sense of smell or taste

YOU MUST NOT ATTEND CHURCH, but we hope that you are able to enjoy worship on Zoom or via the website later in the week. As a stewarding team we hope that the mix of these requirements, combined with the option to remain at home, will reduce the risk as much as possible, whilst acting on the view of church council to return to our much-loved place of worship.

In terms of lettings and users of our Halls, the restrictions mean that the earliest that these can recommence is the 12th of April (again, this is subject to further Government review). We are working towards this date and thank Barbara for liaising with our Hall users.

Communion
During the 10:30am service on Easter Sunday we will also be holding communion. We have developed special arrangements to ensure this is done safely in accord with our COVID Risk Assessment. So, during communion, the congregation will remain in their seats and the elements will be brought to you (using the alternate roped off rows). We will be wearing PPE and using wafers instead of bread to ensure that only the person taking communion will have touched it, and you will be asked to pick up your own glass of communion wine (being careful not to touch any of the other glasses) and then to replace that back onto the tray.

Eggs
As usual on Easter Sunday we will be collecting fresh eggs. These will be distributed to local charities to help people in need. There will be a table at the front where these can be placed.

Flowers
Once again in the church garden we will have the large cross. On Easter Sunday you are invited to bring flowers to decorate the cross. (When doing this please do maintain a safe distance and wash/sanitise your hands afterwards.)

We look forward to being back together again!