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.

A statement from the Bishop of London following the Government announcement that church buildings will be able to reopen for public worship from 4th July

Places of worship will reopen for public worship from 2nd December

The Church of England is preparing to take the church into people’s homes – through TV screens, laptops, computers and mobile phones – ahead of the first Sunday without public worship.

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.

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, together with the Bishop of London, have joined national faith leaders in calling on the Government to permit public worship during the forthcoming lockdown in England. 

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has launched a free national phone line as a simple new way to bring worship and prayer into people’s homes.

This Friday, the day after he legally becomes the 98th Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell will answer young people’s questions about compassion during a virtual collective worship session.

Following the announcement of new ‘rule of six’ restrictions to help limit the spread of coronavirus, the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, who chairs the Church of England’s recovery group, said:

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York are calling for Church of England churches to put public worship on hold and become a “different sort of church”.