Reopening of St. Andrews

Good news! We are planning to return for congregational worship on Sunday 6th September at 11.00 am.  The worship will be led by Mrs Valerie Taylor as the Revd Dr Carla A Grosch-Miller is away.

However, please be aware, it has to be very different.  Here is a picture of a possible layout, which shows how the required ‘Social Distancing’ can be maintained.  This allows for approximately 34 people to attend in the church.

Image showing the layout of chairs in the church to maintain social distancing

Conditions applying to opening are:

  • The sacrament of Holy Communion will not be available on 6th September.
  • Services will last around 30 to 35 minutes.
  • Pre-booking will be essential – see below for more details.
  • There will be no collection of offerings during the service; donation bowls will be available at entrance and exit points.
  • Social distancing of 2 metres should be adhered to when approaching the church and inside.
  • Face masks must be worn and masks will be available if required.
  • On entering the building the hand sanitiser should be used and you will then be ‘checked in’.
  • You will go straight into the church.
  • There will be no choice of seats; we will fill up from the front.
  • There will be no singing, though music may be played in the service.
  • At the end of the service you will leave by the Woodleigh Road door, following the organist and minister or worship leader.
  • A toilet will be available for emergency use.

To reserve your seat please call 0191 252 3319 or 0786 6690604 between 12 noon on Friday 04Sep2020 and 12 noon on Saturday 05Sep2020 (services on subsequent Sunday’s will be booked in a similar way).

We will endeavour to arrange seating to accommodate couples or families and if numbers wishing to attend exceed those allowed in the church we will provide for an ‘overflow’ in the Main Hall where the service will be shown in video and audio.

In addition, we intend to stream and record the services and also to have paper copies available for those unable to attend. Streaming of services will be via the church YouTube channel.

Mid-week Service and Private Prayer

From Wednesday 9th September it is hoped to provide a short service of worship at 9.30 am.  This is replacing the former Tuesday morning service.  The points listed under ‘Sunday Services’, from Social distancing will also apply to this service.

Following the service the church will remain open for private prayer until 11.00 am.

There is no need to pre-book for either of these but to meet the Corvid-19 requirements the following do apply to both:

  • Social distancing of 2 metres should be adhered to when approaching the church and inside.
  • Face coverings must be worn – masks will be available if required.
  • On entering the building you will be ‘checked in’ and complete a ‘Consent Form’ if you have not already done so.
  • Hand sanitiser should be used.
  • You will go straight into the church:
    • to the front for the 9.30 service
    • to the rear for private prayer.
  • At the end of the service or private prayer you will leave by the Woodleigh Road door.
  • There will be no coffee or socialising.
  • A toilet will be available for emergency use.

If you require any further information, please get in touch.

We hope to see you in September

Take care and keep safe