I hope you are all well and have enjoyed the last few days of good(ish) weather.

I am looking forward to being able to be leading our first Sunday service in Church tomorrow. It’s been a long time coming and involved a considerable degree of organising so that it can go as smoothly as possible. As I said last week, all our thanks should go to those who have helped plan and prepare for tomorrow. At time it seemed that not only were we in unchartered waters, but that the tide was forever ebbing and flowing against us. We had a dry run on Tuesday morning at Morning Prayer. There were a number of glitches, not least trying to get the right balance between the music and my voice when it came to the prayers. You can find it here:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvSYLdqaC6s

Last night the Church issued the following statement:-

“The Prime Minister has outlined plans to make face coverings mandatory in Places of Worship from 8th August and has withdrawn guidance to permit indoor professional performances with immediate effect. We will study detailed government regulations and guidance once they are available and will update our guidance accordingly.

In the meantime, we continue to strongly advise that face coverings should be worn by all those attending a place of worship, including ministers, worshippers, staff, volunteers, contractors and visitors, where there may be other people present; remembering that they are mainly intended to protect other people, not the wearer, from coronavirus (COVID-19) and that they are not a replacement for physical distancing and regular hand washing.”

Can I ask that those of you who are coming to Church tomorrow bring and wear face masks, and also a tablet/mobile device with service on it or your own printed version.

Attached is the service for all to use.

Anyway, that’s enough for this week. I’m going to watch the Cup Final!

With God’s blessing,

David