Following further advice from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, in the light of the announcement on Monday 16 March by the Prime Minister, the Church of England has taken the precaution of suspending public worship in its churches during the Coronavirus outbreak.

Whilst this will mean that we cannot gather for worship in the same way that we normally do, it does not mean that we cannot worship at all. St Paul’s Church will remain open during the day for private prayer between 8.30 am and 5.15 pm, and I will be in Church to say Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer each day. There will be some prayer materials available in Church to inform private prayers; if you come into church and use them, please take them home with you afterwards.

On Sunday a mass will be celebrated and either live-streamed or uploaded to our Facebook Page, to enable members of the congregation to worship together, albeit remotely. This should then stay on the Facebook Page as a video for viewing later in the day. Do make it a priority to view that live stream/video, and to pray for our parish during these difficult times. In addition, the daily mass will be celebrated on behalf of the parish, though without a congregation, with videos of some of those masses being uploaded to Facebook.

The Archbishops have asked that we particularly keep this coming Sunday, Mothering Sunday, as a day of prayer and action, particularly for those who are sick or anxious, and for all involved in our Health Service. We are asked to place a lighted candle in our windows at 7.00 pm as a sign of solidarity and hope in the light of Christ that can never be extinguished.

Further, we are in the process of setting up a group of people to try to help those who are vulnerable in our community and are self-isolating. If you know of anyone, please either ring or email, and we will see how we might be able to offer some practical help.

Finally, please keep all of our community in your prayers at this time, and as we continue our journey through Lent, let us keep our eyes firmly fixed on the joy of Easter — the gift of the Resurrection of Jesus, the one who truly is the Light of the world, and the hope of each and every one of us.

Fr David