Coronavirus: Diocesan Guidance & Updates

Coronavirus: Diocesan Guidance & Updates

News article
General

In current circumstances on Coronavirus, we’re re-shaping our Diocesan website coverage.

This news page will give you the latest Diocesan Guidance & Updates including Diocesan wide services, events and communications.

In addition, you will find advice, support, and resources published covering:

  • Prayer and reflection
  • Public health advice
  • Going Digital

Latest update: 13 April 2020 

Diocesan-wide Services:

Easter Sunday service (12 April)

A Service for the Renewal of Commitment to Ministry:  Maundy Thursday (9 April)

  • A Diocesan wide Renewal of Vows took take place on Maundy Thursday via Zoom for clergy (chaplains, locums and PtO clergy).  Bishop David preached the sermon. 
  • You can find our separate news story on this at the link.

Guidance & Updates

Bishops Robert and David have written to Clergy and Churchwardens and Readers regarding pastoral and liturgical matters.   The Diocesan Secretary has also written to clergy and chaplaincy officers on financial, operational and administrative issues.   

To update everyone in the Diocese on the position regarding public worship and the use of church buildings, following our Bishops' letters to clergy and church wardens last month, and our website post on 31 March, our Bishops have indicated the following:

- We expect that as a general rule we will all (clergy and laity) be staying at home, praying in our homes and, where appropriate, streaming services from our homes. Our church buildings are closed. This accords with guidance issued by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York attached ‘Stay home, protect the NHS and save lives’.

- Nonetheless, we recognise that our multiple national contexts are different from the context in England, and, in particular, as a minority church we do not have the same ecumenical and inter-religious public health leadership responsibility. Our considered advice is therefore as follows:

- It is permissible for clergy to continue to use their church building for private, personal prayer if their home adjoins the church, i.e. if they can move from their home to the church without going outside or through any outside area that would be open at any time to individuals outside the clergy household itself. Travelling to church to pray is not an ‘essential’ journey.

- In some cases, a chaplaincy will have good reason (practicality, availability of filming equipment, very low public health risk) for streaming a weekly worship service from their church building. This can be done:

o Only if all relevant local public health regulations are strictly complied with

o With minimum numbers of people involved (consideration should be given to limiting those in attendance to members of the household only)

o After consultation with the relevant archdeacon.

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The national Church continues to publish advice on its dedicated Coronavirus page:

https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-churches

Diocesan Corona Co-ordination Group

The Diocese has established a senior level Corona Co-ordination Group.  It comprises of our Bishops, Archdeacons, Chief Operating Officer/Diocesan Secretary, and Director of Communications. 

The Group is convening regularly to consider and review issues relating to the Coronavirus pandemic, and make decisions on its implications for the Diocese.

A video message from Diocesan staff

Diocesan office staff in London and Brussels have recorded a short video message for Easter.  You can access this video here.

Giving to the Diocese in Europe

Please help us by giving what you can to support our mission and work across Europe in these challenging times. 

You can donate to us directly on our Just Giving page via the link below:  
 
https://www.justgiving.com/diocese-ineurope

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