Churches reopen but no singing allowed
New rules for places of worship
Churches, chapels and mosques welcomed back congregations this week for the first time in four months but worshipers can’t sing together with chanting also banned.
But some churches won’t open their doors fully with Rev Gary McIntyre at St Ninians Old Parish revealing it will be a couple of months until things are back to normal.
“We are not planning to reopen until October when hopefully restrictions will have been eased further,” said Rev McIntyre..
“At the moment, we would be limited to 50 people wearing face coverings and no singing! I think it would be a pretty depressing experience!”
New rules say shared prayer books can’t be used and households must remain two metres apart and also hand over details for virus and test and tracing purposes.
Places of worship can offer communal prayer and contemplation but numbers are limited to 50 with a maximum of 20 at weddings or funerals.
From Wednesday, religious organisations were able to take a step towards normality as part of the latest easing of the coronavirus lockdown.
Jean Porter, Moderator of Stirling Presbytery of the Church of Scotland, said: “A few buildings within the Presbytery area have been open for private prayer for some weeks under strict hygiene and social distancing guidelines.
“While we welcome the fact that we now have the opportunity to hold services with limited numbers in our buildings, we are taking a cautious approach and will carefully consider risk assessments submitted by congregations in the days and weeks to come.
“Our top priority is to ensure that all our buildings are safe before they are used by more than a handful of people.
“At St Mark’s, where I serve as deacon, we are very excited about the prospect of opening our building for worship and are currently working towards being able to do this safely.”
Catholic churches and the Central Scotland Islamic Centre are also able to reopen.
Guidance has been issued to places of worship in order for them to reopen. Key
Our top priority is to ensure that all our buildings are safe before they are used by more than a handful of people Moderator Jean Porter
measures include: restrictions on capacity so that a safe distance of at least two metres can be maintained between individuals from different household groups. No place of worship should admit more than 50 people at any one time, regardless of its size or usual capacity, with a limit of 20 on weddings and funerals; the retention of worshippers’ contact details to share for Test and Protect if required; no communal prayer books, prayer mats or other shared items; faith leaders and those responsible for places of worship must take all reasonable measures to adapt faith-specific rites and rituals to ensure the safety of those present; singing, chanting and the playing of wind instruments should be avoided pending further scientific and medical advice on the risks of transmission