CHURCHES across Pershore have vowed not to leave anyone out in the cold despite places of worship closing their doors for the immediate future in a bid to tackle the Coronavirus crisis.
Church chiefs have backed the decision by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to put public services on hold until further notice.
In a joint letter, Archbishops Justin Welby and John Sentamu said it was now necessary for Church of England churches to become a ‘different sort of church’ in the coming months to face the COVID-19 challenge.
Vicar of Pershore, Rev Claire Lording, said: “For us the big thing is that even though the churches are shut we are continuing to worship through our social media platforms and by a weekly service sheet which is being put up on our website.
“We are doing our very best to keep in touch with people and make sure we are being good neighbours to one another.”
Her comments echo the support offered by Vicar of Evesham Rev Andrew Spurr who told the Observer last week it was important the church ‘did its part’ in restricting the opportunities for the virus to spread.
“We are definitely in uncharted territory. This confinement may go on for weeks or months. We may be seeing the first Holy Week and Easter which has not been publicly observed since our churches in Evesham were first built,” he said.
The Church of England has revised its official Coronavirus guidance to close all of its church buildings with immediate effect after the Government ordered a countrywide lockdown.
In some churches and cathedrals, clergy had continued to hold daily prayers and many had livestreamed Sunday services over the weekend in the absence of congregations who instead tuned in from home.
However, the guidance makes clear that this can no longer continue and even priests must stay away and livestream any services from their homes.
The only churches permitted to open are those required to run food banks.
