|
|
From Monday 15 June individuals, couples and close family will be welcome to enter the church for private prayer.
MONDAYS, WEDNESDAYS AND FRIDAYS: 10am – 3.30pm*
TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS: 10am – 12.30pm*
*These provisions are subject to change.
Any changes will be pre-announced on our website.
We are happy to announce that public celebrations of the Mass are about to resume at St Etheldreda's. Sunday Masses will resume on 12 July at 9am and 11am. Initially, the 1pm weekday Masses will be celebrated on Tuesdays and Thursdays only, beginning on Thursday 9 July. Please note that church-opening times for private prayer have been modified accordingly (see above) to allow for appropriate cleaning after weekday Masses.
NB
• The suspension of the Sunday obligation remains in effect until further notice, despite the resumption of public Masses.
• In order to ensure their safety, the elderly and those with underlying health conditions (such as cancer, diabetes or heart disease) are strongly advised not to come to Mass until further notice.
For those who do attend there are a number of precautionary measures that are being implemented in light of guidance from the Government and from the Diocese of Westminster. These measures are designed to enhance the safety of congregants and we ask you to take them very seriously. Volunteer Stewards will be present to encourage compliance with the guidelines.
• Please observe the 2-metre social distancing rule from entering the Church until departure. Capacity at each Mass will be limited to 30 people. Only about half the benches are in use and there should be only one or possibly two persons per bench, unless it is a household who live together. Seating places are marked and you may be guided to them by a Steward.
• Please use the hand sanitiser that is provided at various points.
• There will be no congregational or other singing at any of the Masses.
• There will be no 'sign of peace'.
• For Holy Communion: People should wait in their pews until instructed by the Stewards to move forward one at a time to the priest for Holy Communion, always aware of the regulations on 2-metre social distancing.
• The priest will advise people at the beginning of each Mass how exactly they should receive Holy Communion.
• Holy Communion will be distributed after the final blessing and communicants should not return to their pews after Communion but should exit the church via the side aisles straight after Communion. Therefore, communicants should take their belongings with them when they come up to receive Communion.
• The lighting of votive candles at Sunday Masses is suspended for the time being.
• There will be no collection. Provision will be made for people to make donations at the entrance to the church. So that our staff can limit their handling of money as much as possible, we ask you to use the envelopes available on the cloister table (if you do not have a personalized pack) or, better still, to set up a standing order. Standing order mandates are also available on the cloister table. If you wish to use them, please take one home, fill it in and drop it through the Presbytery letterbox next time you come to church. Or download a standing order mandate here and drop the completed form through the Presbytery letterbox.
Set up a standing order online
• Confessions: Advice will be given towards the end of each weekday Mass.