With us entering stage 4 of the Government’s roadmap there are no longer any mandatory guidelines but the advice from the church’s Covid recovery group is to remain cautious but that detailed decisions are to be made locally.
We will continue to provide hand sanitiser and people will be very welcome to continue to wear masks if they wish. It is wise to try and sit in a way that respects social distancing though this is not a requirement
We are able to sing which I know will be a real joy and we also look forward to events with the Garrowby Singers in the autumn.
Communion may be received in both kinds though I am aware that sharing the chalice will not be something everyone will wish to do. We will administer as we have been doing and have the chalice on a side table so people can receive if they wish. We will explain in detail on Sundays how the practicalities will work. As you know receiving either the bread or the wine is to receive Christ’s presence and both kinds are not required. Some will wish to continue to make a spiritual communion at this point in the service rather than having the bread or wine.
The main doors of churches will continue to be kept open to allow ventilation.
When The Peace is shared it will be as we have been doing – a smile and a wave rather than shaking hands.
At this time with infections still rising even though the vaccine has made a huge difference, I think it is important to continue to be cautious and look after each other.
The Garrowby Churches are set in the Yorkshire Wolds, and consists of 5 parishes. As worshipping communities we aim to grow ourselves in our faith and discipleship, support and engage with our local communities and bring new people to Christ.
We are blessed with beautiful buildings and faithful commitment from our congregations. As we continue to grow together, we are being enabled to offer a variety of worship and outreach. Lay ministry and leadership is key to all we offer, and encouraged as we endeavour to open the Kingdom and its values to all.
The Christian faith is focused on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. We also believe his death achieved something very special: the opportunity to reconnect with the God that we might believe in but might sometimes feel remote from.
We believe that Jesus was not just a human being but, in some way that we cannot fully understand, God as well. We believe in God the Father, the creator of the entire universe, and the Holy Spirit, who is the way we can experience Jesus today. Not three gods but one, who together are described as the ‘Trinity’ – a description not so much of philosophy but of the relationship at the heart of God.
In the most famous Christian prayer we pray ‘Our Father…’ This creator God wants a relationship with us, for us to be his children and to give us, as Jesus says, ‘life in all its fulness’ (John 10.10).
