After nearly three months of lockdown, churches in Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge have been given permission to start opening for people to come and make their individual prayers.
The Vicar of Burnham, Rev Graham Witts, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “Having been closed for a long time has meant we have had to find new ways of being the Church in our communities.”
“Many of our local churches have live-streamed services and others have created services for social media platforms.”
“However, following guidance from the government and from the Archbishop’s Covid-19 response team, we are now able to be open again.”
“We will be limited to offering a place to people to come and make their own prayers. There will not be public worship as yet.”
“So, some local churches, but not all, will be open for private prayer and provision is in place for people to use hand sanitizers and observe social distancing when they come to church.”
“If anyone is displaying any of the symptoms of Covid-19 we ask them to follow the NHS guidelines and self-isolate and not to come to any of our local churches.”
“The guidelines are quite strict and so we welcome people who will come to say their own prayers but we are unable to offer hospitality to those who only wish to view the church as a historic building.”
“Of course, we can pray anywhere and it’s a lesson we have all learnt since March, but the open church doors in our community is a sign that ordinary activities are being permitted again.”
Churches in Burnham and Highbridge opening:
- St Andrew’s Church will open this week on Wednesday and Friday from 10am to noon and in the following weeks will also be open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10am to Noon.
- St John’s Church in Highbridge will be open on Thursdays from 10am to Noon and on Sundays from 2pm to 4pm.
- The Gospel Centre in Highbridge will be open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10.30am to Noon.
