Aberdeen Street Church    

Looking Ahead Life After Lockdown

Statement

The past three months have been a challenging time for our families, our church, and our community. Sadly, too many of the people we love, and value have been taken from us, but we hold them dearly in our hearts.

Although our building has been closed, our church remains open as we continue to conduct services and stay connected via Zoom, YouTube and other Social Media. As the threat of the Coronavirus decreases, we can begin to look towards returning to corporate worship in our church building. The government has announced that from July 4th, public worship can be conducted in places of worship, as long as certain restrictions are observed. These include, two meters social distancing, no congregational singing, and limitations around preaching. In addition, we are also mindful of the warning that there is likely to be a second wave of Coronavirus in the coming months. Therefore, the timing of our return to public worship in the building will depend on further government advice and guidance, but also when we feel the time is right for us to do so.

Over the next few weeks, we will continue to prepare the building for re-occupation while we await further guidance. Preparation will include a health and safety risk assessment, deep cleaning of the building, installation of automatic hand sanitizers, provision of PPE equipment for our frontline staff such as stewards, and seating plans. We may also need to have controlled access to some areas to assist us in maintaining social distance. After each service the building will be thoroughly cleaned before the next service.

Our preparations are being guided by advice from health and safety professionals within our National Church body. We are taking a corporate approach to ensure that we maintain consistency throughout all our churches. We will take every step to ensure that everything is in place as far as possible, for the health, safety, and well-being of everyone who frequents the building.

We realise that returning to the church building will be a gradual process and we may need to manage the numbers initially to ensure social distancing. We are also aware that while some people may be keen to return, others may not have the confidence to do so immediately due to anxiety or vulnerability. It is our intention to continue to live stream the services in the future in order to cater for the sick, shut-in and those who are not yet ready to return to the church building.

In the meantime, stay connected, stay safe, stay blessed.

From the Aberdeen Street Pastoral Team