News for this coming Sunday and beyond – May 17th
Fr Paul will be live streaming Mass on our Church Facebook this Sunday morning at 9:30am and Steve our Director of Music will be offering some live music at 11:00am.
Update from the Church of England and Diocese of Canterbury re Covid-19. On May 11th the Bishop of London said: “We note from the Government’s COVID-19 Recovery Strategy that churches could be open from July as part of the conditional and phased plan to begin lifting the lockdown. We look forward to the time when we can gather again in our church buildings. This will of course be dependent on how the virus reduces and we are aware that a second spike in cases will change this prediction. Even then, what will the “new normal” look like. I have just ended a Thanet Clergy Chapter Zoom meeting online, and there is much speculation about what a return to Church will look and feel like. We wait and see prayerfully!
As your parish priest, I have already begun the process of trying to deep clean the church, to test water and to make sure that we have a safe place, we will also be regularly cleaning door handles etc, but we cannot at present use public hymn books or Mass books. This of course for now will not affect us too much, as I will be the only person along with Maggie allowed into Church for worship. Once we have completed the cleaning and checking of water, gas, and electrics this week, I shall resume the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer at 9:00am and 5:00pm as from Tuesday of next week, but these cannot yet be public events. As we have no Internet connection in the Church building, I will continue to live stream Mass from the Rectory Oratory on Sundays at 9:30am. Mass will be offered in Church on occasion to replenish the Blessed Sacrament, but again I am not permitted to open this to be a public act of worship. It should also be noted that as of this time, the use of our Church Hall by outside groups is not yet possible.
Ascension Day – May 21st. Mass will be live streamed at 6:00pm. Ascension Day commemorates the ascension of Christ into Heaven.