KCB Weekly news – Sunday 26th July 2020

Parish News

Seventh Sunday after Trinity

Dear all – I’ve noticed during various Zoom meetings that several of us have clearly managed to get to the hairdresser! It’s good to see some visible signs that we’re able to resume some of those things we took for granted before lockdown – though always taking suitable precautions. And shortly that will include the opportunity to participate in worship in our buildings! See below for more information.

Remember that this is YOUR parish newsletter, so if you have any news to share or items of interest or encouragement, please contact me by TUESDAY each week.

Re-opening church buildings for Sunday worship

At its meeting this week, the PCC’s buildings reopening working group recommended the following plan for re-opening for worship, to cover the first 3 weeks in August. Starting on Sunday 2nd August, I will lead one service of Holy Communion each Sunday in each of our buildings in rotation. The services will therefore be:

  • Sunday 2nd August 9.30am – Bradley
  • Sunday 9th August 11am – Kildwick
  • Sunday 16th August – Cononley

Not moving between two buildings on Sundays in the short-term forms part of the measures aimed at mitigating the risk of viral transmission.

Coronavirus requires us to carry out a stringent risk assessment in order to mitigate the risks of transmitting the virus as far as possible. Physical church services will therefore be somewhat different to what you have been used to previously. Buildings will be marked out to ensure physical distancing, and one-way systems will be in place. There will be no hymn books, and no singing in church. At the door, your details will be taken, so that you can be contacted by ‘track and trace’ if necessary. You will be asked to sanitise your hands on arrival. Communion (in one kind only) will be carried out rather differently, and I will be wearing PPE during distribution. It is currently up to individuals to decide whether or not they wish to wear a face covering. The maximum number able to attend services depends on the capacity of each building allowing for physical distancing; currently we estimate it to be 20 at Bradley; 15 at Cononley; and 30 or so at Kildwick in the nave (without the north or south aisles). At the end of services there will be no refreshments, and people will be expected to leave the building immediately afterwards.

These are our first tentative steps into reopening for public worship, and should be regarded as experimental for now. I don’t propose (certainly as yet) to introduce a ‘booking system’, but it would help with planning and expected numbers if you could let me know if you intend to come to any of these services. Please e-mail or phone me if so.

The next question is what happens on the Sundays when I am not taking a service in your building. People at Bradley have said that after 2nd August they would like there to be a non-Communion service led by someone from amongst their number. At Kildwick I am consulting with those who have been leading the recently-introduced Third Sunday Services as to whether they feel able to lead a similar service on any week (with no pressure or expectations that they should do so) – they have said yes in principle. I would like to hear from people in Cononley what they would like and feel able to offer. If no service can be held, it would still be possible, for example, to open for private prayer. I hope to be able to say a bit more about these plans in next week’s newsletter.

For those not yet able to attend a service in person, for the time being I will continue to livestream via Facebook each Sunday. Instead of Morning Prayer at 10am, it will be Evening Prayer at 4pm. We are thinking about what we can continue to offer virtually in the future, and will keep you informed of any plans.

This is a strange and confusing time. If you have any queries at all about these new temporary provisions, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Private prayer in church buildings

This Sunday, St John’s will open for private prayer between 11am and 12 noon. As for the last couple of weeks, St Mary’s will be open between 9.30am and 10.30am, and St Andrew’s between 2pm and 4pm.

KCB Zoom coffee!

Over the last few months, lots of us have discovered the benefits of technology in helping us to keep in touch – WhatsApp, Facetime and Zoom are names that some of us have become familiar with us even if we never expected to! So I’d like to invite those of you who are brave enough and have the technology to join me for the first KCB Zoom coffee morning next Tuesday 29th July at 10.30am. I’ll send the link via e-mail, but here are the details that you need – Meeting ID: 843 063 5912 Passcode: 839677. Make yourself a cup of your favourite brew (maybe grab a biscuit…) and click to join via Zoom, for a chat and catch-up. Depending on how it goes, we might make it a regular event! And if nobody shows up, at least I’ll enjoy my cuppa!

Cornerstone Christian bookshop in Skipton to close

Very sadly, coronavirus has forced the trustees of Cornerstone Christian bookshop in Skipton to take the decision that it will cease trading at the end of September. The notice about this decision can be found here: http://www.cornerstoneskipton.co.uk/. For now, the shop continues to trade on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays 10am to 3pm, and they can be also be contacted by phone or e-mail. As the notice says, please pray for the staff (Gill, Jacqueline and Anne) as they are made redundant, and for God’s wisdom about the possibility of a new way in which Christian books and resources can continue to be made available in the Skipton area.

Please pray!

If you have any prayer requests that you would like to share, please let me know (if it’s for another person, please ensure they are happy for the request to be included). This week please pray for people on the move from Kildwick. Sylvia Ackroyd has recently moved, and this week we said goodbye to Edward Gee, moving to Oswestry. Peter and Lesley Bannister’s delayed move is now expected to take place in August – all being well they hope to come to the service on 9th August.

With my love, and with every blessing
Julie