09/01/2021
The closure of the Churches in the Mission Community
Please share this with all interested congregation members.
After some considerable discussion the Church Wardens and the Clergy have decided, with a heavy heart, to temporally close all churches in the Mission Community for Sunday Worship. They will, however, be open for private prayer and funerals as far as possible.
Many factors were brought into the discussion including balancing the need for services within the community, the need to insure the one hundred percent safety of our congregation and to support the NHS in their battle with this awful disease.
Whilst we acknowledged wholeheartedly the utter need some would feel to continue to attend, we felt we could not guarantee the complete safety of our congregations, despite all our efforts. We discussed the virulence of this strain and how difficult it is to ensure that nobody congregates either in the church or outside as the community worship is often the reason people come to church.
Announcements will need to be made formally to the Bishop, who will give a special dispensation, but as the Archdeacon said, our proximity to Exeter is a huge factor too. Almost inevitably, then, we concluded our discussions by feeling we had to stop Sunday worship in our churches.
However, most of our churches, if not all, will be open for private prayer every week. Please see the notices that will advertise the time and days for all the different churches. We will be offering weekly Sunday “Zoom” services during the period of closure.
Bill Lemmey, Vicar, plus churchwardens from the Mission Community
