Dear Parishioners,

I hope you are keeping well. St Augustine’s is now open for Mass twice a week, on Sundays and Wednesdays, both at 10.00 am.

The Church is safe for you to return ands we look forward to welcoming you back to Mass.

Please book your place(s) on the dedicated mobile number given on the parish bulletin (07734 190574) . Bruce Turnbull will be pleased to take your call and advise you. When you come to church you must wear a face mask.

If you wish to go to Confession, please make an appointment with me by email or phone. I will try to be available most Friday mornings around 11 am, but can be flexible for those who are working.

The task of going around the whole of the diocese to risk-assess churches is a huge one, and it is taking time to get around all the churches.

I am hopeful that in the next few weeks we may be given a date for St Anne’s church to be inspected, and then an official risk assessment report can be issued to me by the diocese.

No church can open until there are sufficient volunteers to clean the church after every service, including funeral services, and to have at least two, preferably three or four stewards at every service, including funeral services, in order to direct people to their places in church, and ensure that the 2 metre spacing is maintained, and that hand sanitizing and face masks are observed by all present.

This arrangement (protocol) may well extend far into next year, and so it requires a high degree of commitment from the volunteers, because they will have to be available, as and when required. With sufficient numbers of volunteers, the load can be spread through a Rota System, which one of the volunteers needs to take responsibility for.

Someone will be needed to take phone calls, so that people can book places for Mass, using a dedicated mobile phone number. The list of those who attend must be kept by the parish priest for 21 days, and then it is destroyed. The list will show each person’s full name and contact telephone number, so that they can be quickly contacted to self-isolate, should there be an outbreak of infection.

This is the new normal for these challenging times. But all the trouble is worth it, in order to be able to celebrate the Eucharist once again after a long absence, and to receive holy Communion.

I would like to thank once again everybody who has volunteered or is offering to volunteer.

If you wish to volunteer, please contact me by email or phone, and I will send you a form to fill out, as a first step, to register your Interest in wanting to Volunteer for this. This will be processed according to the Safe Recruiting Guidelines of the Diocese.

With best wishes and blessings,

Father Paul.