From Revd. Bryan Coates Acting Superintendant Minister
To All the Members of the Churches of the Salisbury Circuit
Dear Friends
I am very grateful that the letter I wrote in the third week of June has been widely circulated and that it has produced some feedback. As the restrictions imposed by the Coronavirus lockdown are being eased, I am aware that we need to be somewhat more pro-active about the process of discussion regarding the re-opening of our Churches for Services of Worship.
The regulations about preparing our premises, from both Church authorities and Government, remain very strict. There is a lot of work to be done. The Circuit Leadership Team is due to meet and we shall retain oversight of the process in order to reassure our people about their safety as they return to Church.
I want to record my thanks, on behalf of us all, to the ministerial team for the work they have put in to creating a variety of Worship material that has been available over this period. Similarly, a sincere ‘Thank You’ to our Technical Team who have spent a great deal of time in making this possible.
In my June letter I raised some questions about the future – those questions remain in play. We do need to talk together about our direction. There are some immediate questions and the gleaning of your answers and opinions will help enormously as we enter a period of planning and preparation for the resumption of Worship and continuing church fellowship and life.
The Circuit Leadership Team (our five Circuit Stewards, our Administrator and the Ministers) will appreciate it if you will please commit some time to thinking creatively about the following subjects and sending me your reflections which ideally will be more than just single word answers. Thank you.
With best wishes
Sincerely
Bryan
Bryan Coates Email – sandyandbryan@tiscali.co.uk
- What have you missed about Church during this lockdown period?
- Of all that the Church has continued to do, what has been helpful to your faith and fellowship?
- What is important and what have you discovered NOT to be important in church life?
- In the light of all the continuing restrictions, what is your expectation about a return to Worship? When do you think that your church should re-open?
- Are you aware of the regulations which will put some restrictions (eg no singing, social distancing etc) on the Worship that we are able to offer?
- Are you excited or apprehensive about coming back to Church Worship and activity?
- Should we try to continue, in some form, with some of the provisions we have made during lockdown with online Services and written material?