Reopening for Worship

​As of Sunday 13 September, we are pleased to be reopening for Sunday worship. As you may be aware, the Government has just announced new regulations on meeting together from 14 September. Therefore, we will now be meeting together for worship in the church at Kempston East this week under our four-point guidance. We have also included a new poster below about how you might recognise someone who is unable to wear a mask because of a hidden disability.

If you are not able to come to the church on a Sunday morning, we plan to livestream and record the services and make them available to view in full on the website. If you would like to watch the services live, please sign up to our email list to receive the viewing details.

Four Point Guidance

• ​Frequently washing or sanitising our hands well remains a key protection against getting and transmitting Covid-19;
• Optimum protection is provided by maintaining 2 metre distances between you and people not in your household or your ‘bubble’. Keep two empty seats between your group and the next one;
• Unless you’re exempt from doing so, wear a face covering when in the Church (and remember that not all the reasons why some people aren’t able to wear a mask are obvious … so be kind);
• Remember, when taking your seat in Church, use the centre aisle to go from the back (the main church entrance end) to the front (the preaching area). When you leave, use the side aisles to go from the front (the preaching area) to the back (the main church entrance).

​New Rules on Socialising from September 14

Last Tuesday, and following the large increases in Covid-19 cases in the previous three days, the Government announced new rules for how we can socialise with other people. This is our guide to what these are and how they might affect us.
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There will be a limit of six people allowed to meet together socially (up until tomorrow the limit is thirty people). This applies to meeting together indoors and outdoors, so you won’t be able to have more than six family members meeting together, even in your garden, in a restaurant, or in the park.

There will be some exceptions to these rules:

• If your household or your ‘support bubble’ is larger than six, then you can meet together. Your household is the people you actually live with, not including your wider family. A support bubble is formed when one adult living alone forms a group with a second household (of any size) and effectively acts as one group.
• Education is exempt from this, so schools will still be open and classes can be larger than six
• Work is also exempt, so you will still be able to go to work with other people
• Weddings and funerals are also exempt but there are still limits of 30 people at weddings and a ‘modest number’ at funerals
• Team sports are also exempt providing they are run so as to limit the spread of the virus
• And, most importantly for us as a church, religious worship is also exempt.

This exemption has not been mentioned as widely on the news as the others have but the Methodist Church has posted its guidance by quoting a statement from the Archbishop of Canterbury: "After contact with Government we hear that there is no change to guidance on places of worship. Worship is the work of God – not a social gathering – and gives the strength to love and serve. The increase in COVID cases is very concerning. We must follow the guidance and take all the necessary measures to keep people safe. And let’s keep praying for everyone who is affected – those who are ill, or whose families are ill, those who are anxious, or struggling with cancelled plans and isolation. We give grateful thanks to God for the NHS and all those who work tirelessly to keep us safe." - The Archbishop of Canterbury