Bishop will back churches that decide to close their doors
The Bishop of Worcester has written to parishes to offer his support to those churches uncertain about opening.
Dr John Inge wrote to the parishes following the announcement of a new national lockdown to talk about private prayer and worship and to say there is no obligation for churches to open if it is felt unsafe to do so.
He said: “Following the announcement about the new lockdown, you will have noted that places of worship are allowed to remain open both for private prayer and public worship.
“I am glad that this is the case: as Theresa May said in the Commons last year, Governments closing churches by diktat, even for the best of reasons, sets a dangerous precedent.
“Having said that, I want to make clear that there is no obligation either way; decisions should be taken locally.
“I shall support those who decide, after careful consideration of the risks involved, that their churches should be closed during this lockdown.
“Online worship can, of course, be streamed from them, or elsewhere, as an alternative.
“Where it is decided that churches are to remain open, risk assessments should be reviewed and, in particular, all mingling before and after worship must be most rigorously discouraged.
“Whatever you decide, I want to pay tribute to the way in which our churches have responded to the challenge of Covid-19 so far.
“According to Public Health England, there have been only 47 cases of Covid-19 linked to places of worship, of which there are 30,000, and that’s about four for every 100,000 acts of worship.
“Despite what some sections of the media report, I am proud and deeply moved by the way in which the Church has responded to the pandemic, both in terms of limiting its spread and the wonderful outreach to our communities.”
