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Reopening of the Church of St Peter and St Paul, Dry Drayton


Following announcements on the reopening of places of public worship, the Church of England and Ely Diocese have set criteria to allow the opening of our building not only for private prayer but also for communal worship. It has been decided that from July 12th, the NAVE of our church building will be open every Sunday from 2pm to 7.30pm for private prayer with a ‘said’ communion service open to all at 5.30pm. If you plan to attend the evening service, please let us know on davidwyatt30@btinternet.com or sue.e.wyatt@btinternet.com or by phone

(01954 780775) so that the appropriate number of seats can be made ready just prior to the service.

 

As before, the CHANCEL will be open for private prayer, individually or in your family bubble, every Wednesday.

Church of St Peter and St Paul, Dry Drayton

 

Social distancing must be maintained at all times.

 

The chairs in the NAVE will be covered during the week. The chairs in the chancel will be covered except on Wednesday. Chairs will be arranged to maintain social distancing at all times, however kneeling at the altar rail is now discouraged. These precautions will minimise the chance of surface contamination and chairs will be furloughed for at least 6 days between the open days in the NAVE and CHANCEL respectively.

 

Why is access to the building limited?


By opening the church for two days per week the opportunity for exposure to live virus is reduced and the amount of cleaning required is minimised. Closing the NAVE on Sunday, and covering the chairs, allows 6 days to elapse before further use. The same is true of the chairs in the CHANCEL utilised only on Wednesdays. Fresh chairs could be substituted after each opening if required which may be considered. It is planned that the brass cleaning and flower rota will recommence in August.

 

What must we do when entering the building?


As the entry and exit are through the main door, we may have to wait at the porch door for others to enter or exit before we enter ourselves. Please observe social distancing as you wait and keep numbers in the church low for the same reason. Hand sanitiser is provided at the door and must be used on entry to, and exit from, the church. Once inside, we must minimise touching of horizontal surfaces and follow the instructions on the notices. Everyone must remain vigilant and in the event of known exposure to someone with Coronavirus symptoms the church building will be rigorously cleaned. Further information will be posted from time to time on the notice boards and on the village social media.

 

Other information


The vestry will be solely for the use of clergy and churchwardens (there will be no coffee available after services for the foreseeable future). The toilet in the tower will be available during services for emergency use only and will be cordoned off at all other times. Named service sheets will be distributed at the first communion service and be taken home after the service. Please remember to bring yours with you for the following week as only a limited number of replacements will be available. We must not bring anything unnecessary into the church building nor must anything be left in the body of the church when we leave. Swing bins are available at the door for safe disposal of materials but please keep this to a minimum. Entry and exit is via the main door.

 

A reason to celebrate


The planned tower restoration work is progressing well although additional roof repair work has been identified. The contractors and church architect are confident that all will be returned to excellent condition. You may also notice that the contractors are very meticulous and have kept the cordoned off area at the back of the church scrupulously clean for which we are grateful. Someone commented that they have never seen the church so clean!

 

Conclusion


The recommencement of socially distanced services is the next major step to reclaiming our church building for the village. The red Saint Peter & St Paul altar frontal which was in place during feast week has been replaced by a green one. Hopefully when we next see the red, if not sooner, we will be able to worship (and party) in a less restricted way.