Moving back into the buildings

We hope you are well, and that the past few months have not been too hard for you and your loved ones. We'd like to update you on our plans for the churches, now that Scottish Government guidance allows places of worship to reopen, as long as this is done safely.

In-person services
We are going to start slowly and for the moment, and will offer an in-person service at Yester Church at 11am on the first Sunday of the month only.  We will also offer lunchtime services at 12noon on the second Wednesday of the month at Saltoun Church, and on the fourth Wednesday of the month at Bolton Church. The decision to divide services this way is based purely on the capacity of the respective buildings with physical distancing in place.  The services will be shorter and follow a slightly different format from the services before lockdown.  There are a number of guidelines which must be followed by everyone attending a service and these are set out at the end of this note.  Before attending a service, please read and follow these carefully as they are for your own and everyone else’s protection.

These are the planned upcoming dates and venues of our in-person services:

• Sunday, 6 September, 11am, Yester Church
• Wednesday, 9 September, 12noon, Saltoun Church
• Wednesday, 23 September, 12noon, Bolton Church
• Sunday, 4 October, 11am, Yester Church (when you are invited to bring donations for the Foodbank)
• Wednesday, 14 October, 12noon, Saltoun Church
• Wednesday, 28 October, 12noon, Bolton Church.

At this time, we would simply like to offer in-person services for all who would like to come together in a church building for worship, and especially all who have difficulty in accessing the online services. However, I know that many of us are very anxious about larger gatherings at this time, and nobody should in any way feel pressured to attend these services in person before they feel ready to do so. All of us will have different circumstances and needs. A video recording of the service will be available on our church website from Sunday afternoon, and audio recordings are available on CD on request. Participating in a service online, or through a sound recording, is worship just as much as doing so in a church building.

On the Sundays when we do not offer a service in the church, a pre-recorded online service will be available on the website from Sunday morning, as during lockdown. These services include contributions from people around the parish: readings, music, reflections and prayers, and offer us an opportunity for more creativity in our worship. On Sundays 13 September and 25 October, we will also celebrate Holy Communion in our online worship. Audio recordings of all services are also available on CD. If you would like to receive one, please contact Paul Sales (01620 811260). If you would like to use any of the church buildings for personal prayer and reflection, please contact me, John Macfarlane (01875 341311) or Paul Sales.

We hope you will understand that none of these decisions has been taken lightly. These first few weeks of in-person services will be an opportunity for us to work out the practicalities of re-opening, so please bear with us as we try to get it right. We hope we can approach this new phase with our usual good humour and helpfulness. All of the arrangements are for the current time only, and will be reviewed based on our learning and experience, your feedback, and as the wider situation around covid evolves.

Groups and events
Our regular groups - the choir, coffee mornings, knitting groups and prayer group – can still not resume at the moment. Information on when and how they will continue will be announced in our services, via our weekly news email, the church websites and social media and included in our next newsletter.

Support
If you would like any help or support, or would welcome a conversation by phone, video call or a socially distant visit, please get in touch with Anikó or one of the elders.

In-person services – guidelines for all attendees

•  In order to comply with social distancing, we regrettably can only accommodate a limited number of people in a church building at the same time. 

• If you would like to attend a service, please call Paul Sales on 01620 811260, by Friday evening (for a Sunday service), or Tuesday evening (for a Wednesday service). We will give preference to members without internet access. If you would like to attend, and the service is already ‘booked out’, we will offer you a space in the next available service. If you do not call ahead, we regrettably cannot guarantee that there will be a space for you on arrival. We sincerely regret that we currently need to operate within these restrictions, but they are the only way to keep us all as safe as possible.

 

• To assist the NHS test and protect system, we are required to take a contact name and phone number for everyone who attends a service, which will be confidentially kept for 21 days. You can assist us with this by bringing a note with your name and number when you come to a service (one name and number per household group is sufficient). Please arrive in good time for the service, to allow enough time on arrival for your details to be taken down.

 

• Please only come to church if you are not currently in quarantine or isolating because of a risk of covid, do not currently have any symptoms of the illness or have tested positive for it, or if you live in a simple or extended household with someone who falls into any of these categories.

 

• Everybody is required to use hand sanitizer on arriving at and leaving the church. Everybody, with the exception of those with underlying health conditions, and children under the age of 5, are legally required to wear a face covering over their mouth and nose while in the building.

 

• In order to enable social distancing, stewards will guide you to a place. We are sorry if we can’t offer you your usual favourite spot. Please do not move closer to people from other households.

 

• Singing is currently not permitted in an indoors communal setting. Our organists are however looking forward to welcoming us back into church with beautiful tunes.

 

• We can’t currently use communal Bibles, hymn books or service sheets. If you would like to use a Bible in the service, please bring your own.

 

• Handshaking at the door, and other physical contact, are not currently possible. If you would like to speak with the minister about any questions or issues, please give her a call instead.

 

• If you would like to make a financial offering, please consider doing so by bank transfer. Otherwise, please place your offering in the plate provided in the church on arrival or before you leave. We are not currently able to collect the offering during the service as usual.

 
These are the guidelines asked of us by the Church of Scotland, in close collaboration with the Government, to keep us all safe and protected.