The Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, has urged people to take steps now to protect each other as we prepare to celebrate Christmas – the second during the global Covid-19 pandemic – amid a rise in cases.Bishop Sarah, who leads the Church of England’s Covid Recovery Group, was speaking as updated guidance for churches was published.She said: "As we look forward to celebrating again the coming of Jesus into our world, we can do so with hope."Few of us imagined when we first heard of the coronavirus at the beginning of last year that we would now be approaching our second Christmas of a global pandemic."The recent emergence of the new Omicron variant and the evidence we’ve seen already of its rapid spread is a cause of real concern."And while we are hugely thankful for the rapid development and mass rollout of the vaccines - and the current booster programme - there are important steps we should take now to protect ourselves and each another."As Christians we have a duty to care for one another, especially those who are most vulnerable, and the latest measures announced by the Government should offer some extra protection and reassurance for people."Caring for one another, sharing, hope, faith and most of all the knowledge that God is with us are at the heart of Christmas."This Christmas we will be coming together – whether in person or online – to worship God and celebrate his coming into the world as a human being like us."Amid all that we have been through together in the last two years that hope is as strong as ever."Read the full guidance
MASKS are now mandatory once again in places of worship in England, after the Government tightened its response to the threat of the omicron Covid variant, its so-called “Plan B”.The publication of the new regulations on Thursday confirmed that communal worship is exempt from the requirement to ask for Covid passes, which, from next Wednesday, will apply to indoor venues with a capacity of more than 500 unseated people. Weddings and funerals are also exempt, though there is less clarity about concerts and any other unseated events.Mask-wearing in church, however, has become mandatory until further notice, unless an individual falls into an exempt category, such as a child under 11 or someone with a physical or mental illness or impairment or disability.Masks may legally be removed once in church, however, if leading a service or reading. The regulations also state that face coverings may be removed “when it is reasonably necessary . . . to sing including singing as part of a choir, or during a service or rehearsal, or for performance”.By and large, the guidance continues to place responsibility for decision-making on individual incumbents. “Incumbents should feel empowered to make locally appropriate decisions, including taking different approaches to different types of services and events where the risks may vary.”This, however, does not extend to asking congregants or visitors to prove that they have been vaccinated. This is not a requirement, the guidance says, “nor is it appropriate. . . We do not know by how much the vaccine stops coronavirus from spreading.”
The Bishop of Hertford writes:It’s amazing to salute all that’s been achieved in the last year of COVID vaccinations in the UK.Yet even as we give thanks for this success, the arrival of Omicron - a variant of the virus that was first identified thousands of miles away, has underlined once again that caring for everyone’s health, wherever they may be, is not just a matter of justice, it’s also in our own self interest.Every time a person is infected with COVID around the world, the probability increases that new mutations of the virus will happen and make it to our shores.Such variants, like Omicron, carry the risk of being able to evade our vaccines or cause serious illness.Vaccinating everyone would act dramatically to reduce this risk. Yet our record to date is lamentable.Despite the fact that by the end of this year 12 billion doses of vaccines will have been produced – enough to vaccinate every adult in the world - 95 per cent of adults in low income countries remain unprotected.We must act now to change this picture and demand vaccine equity across our globe. ‘None of us are safe until we’re all safe’.
