PEWS STAY EMPTY AS CHURCHES FIND NEW WAYS TO WORSHIP

AFEW short weeks ago Reverend Lister Tonge was preparing for an Easter celebration which would be his last at his current post. Rev Tonge has been Dean of Newport at St Woolos Cathedral for about eight years and was ready to retire.

But less than a month later the 68-year-old has had to put his retirement plans on hold as he and his church make dramatic changes to the way they operate.

He is now facing the very first Holy Week of his adult life where he will not be able to attend his church and celebrate with his congregation.

And Rev Tonge has had to come up with new ways to stay connected to his community when many are feeling a little more isolated and alone.

“The phone has come into its own in a way I had forgotten. The phone rings much more than it did.”

Rev Tonge says he still spends a significant amount of his time inside his office preparing material, answering emails, or meeting with the Bishop’s senior team via Zoom.

Many services and reflections, particularly during Holy Week, have been broadcast over YouTube to hundreds of members of the congregation.

But community groups, such as the regular weekly night shelter run by homelessness charity Eden Gate, now cannot be held at the cathedral.

The only physical services which are permitted are funerals but with restrictions on the number of attendees and where the ceremony can be carried out.

“We had a funeral last week. There would have been a lot of members of the congregation here because she was very well-known. All of that couldn’t happen.

“I simply went to the graveside in St Woolos cemetery and stood at the appropriate distance with a small number of immediate family who were allowed to come.

“Other members of her family had to look over the wall of the cemetery from afar and watch what we did.

“It was a very abbreviated version of the funeral service before the coffin was placed on her husband’s.”

He added: “I’m aware that this may be the calm before the storm as I’m aware there may be a lot of funerals to be done at some point.

“I’m very aware that the Royal Gwent is almost in my back garden. As I sit peacefully in my sitting in the sunshine the chimneys of the Royal Gwent are just around the corner.

“I’m very aware that other people are fighting for their own lives, and others helping fight for their lives, while I am sitting comfortably going about my ordinary business. That’s a very strong feeling I have.”

Sarah Jones has been priest-incharge at The City Parish of St John The Baptist, in Cardiff city centre, for about 18 months.

“Because St John’s is right in the middle of the city centre it’s right opposite the market and St David’s Hall so we are normally fairly busy,” Rev Jones said.

She said the church has had to adapt in recent weeks to continue offering support to people in the community: “We have all been trying our best to work out how best to do that.

“A lot of clergy have taken their services online. Some of those are just using a smartphone and they’re saying morning prayer in their vicarage. Some clergy are live streaming a normal service, that might be 50 minutes of a communion.

“We’ve taken a slightly different approach. We decided we would try to put a service together which was tailored to the internet.

“We have tried to get some interaction going. And we have also decided to make them quite short so that people who don’t normally come to church would have the ability to click on and get some benefit from it.”

Rev Jones said the analytics show their online services have been attracting an audience of between 60 or 70 people who are watching close to the entirety of the video.

“There’s definitely been some losses,” Rev Jones said. “Many clergy are very in love with parts of their church buildings. The opportunity just to kneel in front of the altar and pray quietly, even if there’s nobody in church. Just to do that is an amazing thing and it’s not quite the same if you’re in your vicarage.

“And all these people who are our community we don’t get to hug or shake hands with anymore.

“Genuinely one of the most lovely things about St John’s is it is such a warm and loving community.”

She added: “When all of this happened, I’ll be honest, I had quite a serious cry one afternoon with just the immensity of all of this.

“But then I was ultimately able to realise that I believe that everything is in God’s hands. It doesn’t mean it will be easy, it could be very hard, but I know whatever happens I will not slip through God’s grasp.

“If I can remind people of that then that I think will be helpful.”