Reopening of the Church Hall on 6th September

As you will be aware, our Church Building has been closed for a number of months now due to the Coronavirus pandemic. However, as the Government has moved into Phase 3 of loosening the lockdown, church buildings are able to be reopened for worship services on a restricted basis. To open the church building, there needs to be approval from the Kirk Session and the local Presbytery.

To this end, we have been working hard in the background to put in place everything that is required for a safe return to the building. The Church of Scotland has provided us with 52 pages of guidance – and we should be especially grateful to Mima McSwan who has put in much work in going through the guidance and ensuring that we have what we need in place.

The good news therefore, is that we will be opening the Church Hall for worship services on Sunday 6th September and the midweek Thursday service from 10th September.

The slightly less good news is that worship services will not quite be what we are used to for a while – for example, there will be no singing, but please see the FAQ document below for details. Despite these things, it is good that we can finally open the building and be physically present together to worship the Lord .

Because numbers are so restricted with 2m distancing in place (only 18 people are allowed in the Large Hall) we will initially be having two services on a Sunday: 10.30am and 11.45am, each lasting 30 minutes, but you must phone beforehand to book your place at any of the services, including the Thursday service. Please do not turn up unannounced as you may not be allowed access. To book your place please contact Mima McSwan on 01294 602410.

Please also remember that if you are still a bit nervous about coming to the church building, we hope to be able to stream the audio of our Sunday service live on our website, with a downloadable version available shortly afterwards, and the audio-only service will still be available to listen to on our phone service by calling 01294 444201.

I hope that this keeps you up-to-date with how and when the church will re-open.

Every blessing,

Rev James McNay, Interim Moderator

Read our Reopening FAQ guidance and GDPR Privacy Notice here (pdf file)