Following a recent announcement that places of worship could reopen for individual private prayer from June 15, the Government has now revised the date in guidance just published to June 13.

COMMENT / The Rt Revd Libby Lane, Bishop of Stockport on Towards a Safer Church: resources for prayer and reflection in worship

Churches offering services from the Book of Common Prayer are seeing unprecedented engagement with hundreds choosing to ‘tune in’ to more traditional offerings. 

Since the government announced that public worship in churches could restart after more than three months of lockdown, churches have been taking innovative steps to help keep their congregations as safe as possible:

The House of Bishops COVID-19 recovery group has shared draft guidelines for when funerals, weddings, baptisms and individual private prayer can recommence in church buildings.

The Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, chair of the Church of England’s Recovery Group, has released a statement on individual prayer in churches.

The Church of England has published new advice to help parish churches and cathedrals prepare to reopen their buildings for public worship after more than three months of lockdown because of the coronavirus.

A prayer ahead of Racial Justice Sunday this week written by Revd Dr Anderson Jeremiah, a member of the Archbishops’ Anti-Racism Taskforce.

The churches of St Peter’s and St Philip’s in Highfields and Evington in Leicester began livestreaming services on Facebook and YouTube from the start of the first lockdown last year.

Efforts by an innovative university chaplain has seen a prayer group grow and two upcoming baptisms from students and staff on campus amid Covid-19 lockdown.