Keep the faith at drive-in church service
Churches across the country are reopening their buildings but one church is utilising a town car park for a drive-in service.
Bridgend Gospel Hall in New Cumnock have swapped their pews for parking slots as they have been running a drive-in meeting on a Sunday evening at the town’s 40-space swimming pool car park.
The church went online at the start of lockdown as places of worship were suspended.
Full time Christian worker Craig MacKie, who has been preaching at the drive-in gospel meetings, said: “We’ve been using Zoom for Sunday morning and Tuesday for our Bible teaching.
“But there are people who don’t have access to that technology or are tech savvy, so for some of those who haven’t been in any church service for 16 weeks they were pretty glad to get out on Sunday night.
“In New Cumnock it was a bit of an unknown- the good thing is that people did come.
“And we’ve probably had about 30 cars each night- most cars with two people in them.”
Places of worship got the go-ahead they could reopen and meet once again on July 15 but health and hygiene measures remain in place and a usual service will look different.
Church gatherings are currently capped at 50 people, physical distancing remains in place and singing, shaking hands and hugging should be avoided.
The drive-in service consists of a short prayer and a 30-minute message.
Dad-of-two Craig said: “We have a church building but it’s not massive. It could seat 100 but not with two metres between them.
“On a Sunday morning it’d be fine because we’re not a big church but on a Sunday night when we get nonmembers but also non-Christians coming along then that’s totally impossible to get everybody in.
“Once we get into phase four, they might say that churches don’t have to place restrictions on the number of people or whatever.
“If they do that then I’ll stop the drivein meeting because I’d be delighted to get back onto a platform and preach which is my familiar setting.
“I’m standing there on a Sunday night and looking at car windscreens. I can see the people in the front row but you can’t really see into people’s cars that well which does make it difficult.”