Letter from Jonathan (28th October 2020)

Dear Church family,

We have now entered Tier 3 which for all of us living in the Warrington Borough adds further restrictions to our lives as we head into the second part of Autumn. We can now confirm that advice to churches does indeed remain the same and Tier 3 brings with it no additional restrictions for churches. Having taken some time over the weekend to prayerfully and carefully consider if any response is needed, we have decided to continue with our present arrangement of services. Whilst we are still able to go out for meals, for a haircut or to the gym it seems only right that we offer the choice to those for whom it feels appropriate at this time to come to the church building for worship on a Sunday.

We realise that for many of us, coming into the building at the moment wouldn’t be the right thing for us to do, and as such we remain fully committed to a programme of online worship and other resources. Our heart is to keep the church family united, worshipping together and well supported throughout these difficult times whether this is in the building or at home.

As leadership and staff teams, enabling the church building to be a Covid-secure venue is something we have taken very seriously. Throughout the pandemic we have followed both government and then any subsequent advice from the Baptist Union: We have undergone all the necessary risk assessments, our building is cleaned to Covid protocols, we have a booking in or registering system for each service,  we have our own QR code for Test and Trace, we operate 2m social distancing in our seating, have sanitizing stations, one-way systems and are quarantining chairs after usage. We are also sanitizing microphones, the lectern and all shared musical instruments, monitoring ventilation with open doors and windows, and are following all the government rules on singing, mask wearing and shorter services.

To ensure that we continue to operate according to best practice as Tier 3 is upon us, here are a few reminders to keep everyone safe:

  • The building will only be opened 15 minutes before the service starts. Unless you taking part in the service please don’t arrive earlier than this.
  • We would continue to ask that for adults once you’re in the main church (except for using the toilets) please avoid leaving the area around your seat until the service is finished. Exemptions to this apply to young children.
  • Our 10.30 service is now booking up quickly in the week before, please book in as early as you can as this enables us to plan our seating for the week more effectively. If you’ve booked in and can’t then attend please do let us know even if it’s on the Sunday morning – we may be able to offer your seats to someone else. 
  • At the end of the service the service leader will invite you to leave the building promptly, please avoid staying in the building to chat. Once we’re outside the rule of 6 applies.

It’s our prayer that even in these strange and disorientating times God will bless and encourage us as we worship together whether at home or in our building.

God bless,

Jonathan

(on behalf of LBC leadership & Staff teams)

Instant SSL