St Andrew’s plans to re-open for worship on the Harvest weekend of 26th- 27th September
Foodbank Collection 11.00am – 1.00pm on Saturday 26th September
Please bring your gifts for the Chesterfield Food bank and have a cup of tea or coffee in the garden. Spread out your arrival time, keep socially distanced and try not to stay more than half an hour. If you go inside, wear a face mask. Although churches and their gardens and grounds are exempt from the ‘Rule of Six’, we still advise you not to gather in groups of more than six people.
Items requested by the Food Bank are:Long Life Fruit Juice; Tinned Fruit; Rice Pudding; Tinned Vegetables; Biscuits; Tinned Meat; Tinned Tomatoes. Harvest Service11.00am Sunday 27th September Leader: Revd Sue Powell. The service will last not more than 45 minutes, there will be no singing, but Margaret has agreed to come and play some hymns on the piano for the congregation to listen to. The chairs have been spaced out, although families can sit together. Some people may need to sit in the gallery. Enter through the front door and leave by the side or back door.Sanitise your hands on arrival andwear a face mask throughout the service. There will be a plate for your offertory as you leave. There will beno refreshments. When you leave, stay socially distanced when you greet friends, and do not gather in groups of more than six people.
If you intend to come to worship on 27th and have not already been asked, please let your Pastoral Carer or LIz know. We have to limit numbers. We hope to continue to worship every Sunday in this limited way. Elders will review the arrangements regularly in the light of government guidance.
Detailed guidance for worshipping safely can be found on the front page of the St Andrew’s Section.
Groups starting again
Slimming World, the Community Youth Theatre Group and one badminton group have started to meet again, but with restrictions in place. They have all completed their risk assessments and these have been checked against the church’s risk assessment. The Scouts have also completed their risk assessment and hope to agree a date to start soon. Government guidance means that Jelly Beans, our Mother and Toddler Group, cannot restart. The Indoor Bowls Group have disbanded, as they decided their members were all too old and vulnerable to continue. The other badminton groups may restart, but need to keep numbers to 6.
Keeping in touch
The church building is closed but St Andrew’s church as people is alive! Find out what we doing.
Foodbank Collections
We have held two socially distanced collections for the Food Bank. A great collection of food items was donated both times and welcomed by the organisers. Most recently on18thJuly, we also served coffee and tea on the lawn under the trees and people gladly caught up with each other.
Risk Assessment
Liz, Mike and Janet have conducted a risk assessment of the premises which has been considered by elders. They have placed the chairs in the sanctuary at 2metresdistanceand it seems we could accommodate up to30 people. However the prevalence of virus and the vulnerability of many members led Elders to decide that we should not reopen in July or August. We will bring Emma back from furlough at the end of July and she has agreed to give the premises a deep clean during August. As indicated by the risk assessment we will be installing hand santisers, warning posters and other safety measures with a view to re-opening in September. The URC has advised everyone attending church services to wear face masks as far as possible.
Church offertory
Patrick thanks the many people who have change to donating through standing orders directly into the church bank account and others who are filling and saving up their envelopes week by week to give in when they are able. Through your faithful giving we remain able to pay our monthly contribution to the URC Ministry and Mission Fund and to meet the bills which come in.
All our Pastoral Carers are keeping in touch with everyone on their list, checking how they are and whether they need any help. Some of our younger members are willing to help with shopping or collecting prescriptions for older members who are confined to their homes. We hear of people getting out for short walks or doing their gardens as we enjoy the coming of spring. Liz and the Elders are circulating a letter of news and reflective material every three weeks or so. We encourage members to join in worship broadcast on TV or radio or the services led by URC ministers which can be accessed through the URC Daily Devotions.
Although we cannot be together physically, we can pray for each other and share in worship.We know that in his suffering, death and Resurrection Jesus Christ walks with us through this darktime.
