Coronavirus Reopening Survey

On Tuesday 23rd July, the Prime Minister said this in the House of Commons:

Mr Speaker, I know that many have mourned the closure of places of worship, and this year, Easter, Passover and Eid all occurred during the lockdown. So I am delighted that places of worship will be able to reopen for prayer and services – including weddings with a maximum of 30 people, all subject to social distancing.

We will be discussing what this means for us, taking into acccount the Church of England's updated guidance and our Bishop's updated directions once those are available. It seems likely that we will be permitted to hold public services, but with restrictions on the numbers who can attend and on what we can do during those services.

Given expected restrictions on numbers, it will help us plan if we know how many people intend to come to services when they restart, and how many do not wish to come at the moment for whatever reason. If we know this, we can plan how best to serve both groups of people.

No decisions have been taken on what our service pattern might look like. So, to help you answer the questions below (and not at all to say that this is what will happen), imagine the following:

  • Services on Sunday resume.
  • Limited numbers mean we could hold more than one, potentially identical, service each Sunday, to allow all who wish to attend.
  • Some kind of advanced booking system would be necessary (so we know numbers and don't have to turn people away).
  • It seems singing could be prohibited, so assume the services are entirely said.
  • Holy Communion may or may not happen.
  • Services would be somewhere in the region of 30-45 minutes.
  • Children's groups do not restart yet.
  • There are no refreshments before or after the service.

If you live locally, please complete the form below by the end of Sunday 28th June. Please complete the form once for your entire household; where asked the number of people, please give the number of people your answer covers. (So, if only 2 in your household would want to come to church, say that your answer covers 2 people.) However, if different answers apply to different people in your household, please then do complete the form more than once, so we have an accurate picture of everyone in your household.

No personal data is being collected; you are not asked for a phone number or email address. Please simply be honest, so we can plan effectively.

Thank you for your help.

How many people are you answering for?
During lockdown:
"Regularly" does not mean "every week" but at least once every 2-3 weeks. Please answer "Yes" whether you joined live or watched later.
When services restart, as described above:
See above for the kind of services envisaged, as you consider whether you'd come.
Would you (still) like to watch / join an online service - be that a livestream of one of the new live services, or something similar to what we have at present?
Please indicate if you'd like to be able to make your one service each week a 1662 Book of Common Prayer Service (Matins or Evensong). (Most likely, there will be one or several identical services each week, blending traditional and contemporary styles, as we've had on YouTube. However, depending on numbers, it may be possible to have one service each week from the 1662 BCP.)
If it were possible to include Holy Communion, would you like the service you attend to do so? (Everyone would receive bread; only the vicar would receive the wine.)

Don't forget to click the "Submit" button below to send in your answers!

Thank you for your time.