News from St John's

Blended Worship

Since Sunday, September 6, 2020, a form of blended worship has been held in St John's.  As well as a "live" service in the church, a pre-recorded version of the same service is available on-line and, for those without internet access, on CD.

This is a development from the pre-recorded "mini-service" which had been available on-line and on CD since 22 March, when the Covid-19 pandemic forced churches and other worship centres to close.

The service is conducted under Church of Scotland guidelines which, themselves, are based on guidance from the Scottish Government.  There is no hymn-singing; worshippers are required to sanitise their hands on entering the building, wear face coverings and maintain a minimum distance of 2 metres from others not in their own household/bubble.  Entrry to and exit from the sanctuary are carefully managed by stewards to ensure infection risk is minimised.  The service is shortened to around 30-40 minutes.  Because of the limited capacity, intended worshippers are asked to reserve space in advance.

It is hoped that, by making the service available to all, no matter whether they can attend church or not, or have internet access or not, the congregation can be united, at least for a brief while, on Sunday mornings.

Because the size of congregation that may attend is drastically reduced from pre-Covid-19 numbers, a booking system is in placed by which members of the congregation can reserve seats for themselves and other members of their household.

Booking a place in Church

If you wish to attend a Sunday morning worship service, you must book a place for yourself and any others in your household who will accompany you.

During the week before the Sunday service you wish to attend and no later than noon on the Friday, phone or text the Registrar on 07751 962 414.

If your call is answered, and there is space, you will be asked for your name, the number of people who will be attending and a contact phone number (or your full address, if you do not have a phone). If there is no answer, please leave your name and contact details and we will get back to you.

If we are unable to accommodate you for the upcoming service, you may, if space allows, be offered a place at the service for the following week.

If you need to cancel your booking for any reason, especially including where you, or any of your household develop Covid-19 symptoms after booking, you must inform the Registrar immediately, by phone.