The Archbishops of Canterbury and York are calling for Church of England churches to put public worship on hold and become a “different sort of church” in the coming months to face the challenge of coronavirus.

We will be working out what this means over the coming days, however, for the time being, it does mean:

1. There will be no Sunday Morning Service, or a service at any other time, held at St James, until further notice.

2. Therefore, there will be no gathered events, such as socials or prayer meetings. Tomorrow's Film and Cream tea Afternoon is now cancelled, as is the Quiz night on the 27th March and the Friday afternoon Lent Groups. Sunday evening Lent Services in Church of England churches will also now not happen.

However, churches can be open as a building for prayer. As well as been open for prayer there will be an opportunity to light a candle. We have been encouraged to support the foodbank, which we were going to do anyway, and so, the church will also be open for people to drop off food for the foodbank. And whilst people do that, there is an excellent exhibition on Hope people can enjoy!