Worship at both our churches

Updated 24 August 2020

We are implementing a gradual but ambitious programme of reopening for worship. It will be church, but not as you know it, at least in the transition period.

Like many churches, in order to ensure that services are safe, we have introduced a ticketing system.

Key points are:

• All services are Covid-19 secure and risk assessed – see below.
• St James has a service at 9am on Sundays – see below.
• Emmanuel has a service at 10.30 on Sundays – see below.
• Emmanuel has a service at 6.15 on Sundays – see below.
• Online streamed services at 10.30 on Sundays will continue for the foreseeable future. The link is always available from the homepage and you can also view all previous services since 22 March.
• St James church is open for private prayer and reflection at specific times every day of the week.
• You can also join daily morning prayer via Zoom from 9 am to 9.30 am Monday to Friday.  The password is 123456
• We will provide a Farsi language service at Emmanuel from Sunday 26 July.
• We will hold weekly services of baptism in St James at 2pm on Sunday from the start August for groups of up to 30.

Covid-secure measures

Bubbles have proved to work effectively and we believe you can return to our buildings with confidence. If you see something that makes you unhappy then you must tell a warden immediately.

Here are some of our risk-assessment mitigations:

• Track and Trace is in place due to online booking
• Sanitiser is obligatory on entry
• Face-coverings are expected to be worn by adults and over 11s at all services and can be purchased on site for £1 if forgotten
• Communion is in one kind – bread only
• Circulation around our buildings is carefully monitored
• ‘Fogging’ will be used where two activities take place on the same day in the same space
• Regular scheduled cleaning is in place

St James 9am Prayer Book Communion

There are 36 St James bubbles.

A bubble is a group of up to three people, but can be as small as one person if that person lives alone. A single ticket equals one bubble. If you are in a bubble that is larger than three people then please simply order a second ticket. It takes less than 30 seconds to book.

Tickets are FREE but capacity is significantly reduced due to social distancing. Please don’t book unless you are absolutely sure you will be attending.

Emmanuel 10.30am Acoustic Communion

There are 56 Emmanuel bubbles. A bubble is a maximum of two people in Emmanuel and so if you’re a family of four people then you simply book two bubbles etc.  It takes less than 30 seconds to book.

Tickets are FREE but capacity is significantly reduced due to social distancing. Please don’t book unless you are absolutely sure you will be attending.

Please be aware of the following:

• The service will be short (30-35 mins) and will end with Holy Communion
• Children’s groups will not be reinstated until the autumn, but children are very welcome to attend if you can keep them in your bubble area. There is no creche.

Emmanuel 6.15pm Evening Service

There are 56 Emmanuel bubbles. A bubble is a maximum of two people in Emmanuel and so if you’re a group of four people then you simply book two bubbles etc. It takes less than 30 seconds to book.

Tickets are FREE but capacity is significantly reduced due to social distancing. Please don’t book unless you are absolutely sure you will be attending.