Dear Parishioners,

As you know, we have started to open up our churches after lockdown.  This Sunday we will continue with a further Parish Communion Service at St Mary’s Easton at 10am which will also be on zoom.  There will also be a service of Evensong at St Swithun’s Martyr Worthy at 6pm.  This latter service will not be on zoom.  In addition there will be a service of baptism in the River Itchen of India Greig at 1130 which will also be on zoom. Particulars about this service will be sent out shortly.

As last time, there will be no singing, greeting each other or refreshments and seating will be socially distanced.  For the Parish Communion Service, we will have music which is recorded by the Choral Scholars of St Martins in the Field which you can sing to (if you are at home and watching on zoom) but in the church we will listen to it (as we might listen to the choir in the cathedral) or engage in melodic humming.  Communion will continue to be in one kind only – just bread and I will have to deliver it to those who attend silently.  Individuals will come to the altar rail at a time and will stand rather than kneel.  At Evensong John Purver will play the organ at the beginning and end of the service but there will be no singing during the service.

Face coverings are compulsory in church for congregation members but not (I am pleased to say) for ministers who are leading the service.

In the context of our public services, whilst the PCC is making every attempt both to prepare the buildings and conduct the services in a way that is covid-secure (in line with the relevant guidance), in deciding whether or not it is the right thing to attend, individuals who are in moderate-high risk categories (including those over 70) will need to make their own assessments of the risk to them.  But should you decide to attend, you will be very welcome!

If you do plan to attend the Parish Communion at St Mary’s Easton on Sunday or the Evensong Service at St Swithun’s Martyr Worthy could you please email me (as Beccy is away) on rector@itchenvalleychurches.org to let us know so that we can have a sense of how many people plan to attend and whether our limit of 20 people is likely to be exceeded.  Also we will need to retain this information for a short time for track and trace purposes.

With every blessing

Alex

Rector

Itchen Valley Parish