Letter from Fr Kevin, Vicar

Dear Friends,

I write to update you on our life together at St Pauls. As I said in last Sunday’s address, the weariness of the harsh journey of the Wise Men resonates in our own difficult journeying through the past nine months of lockdowns and restrictions.

As we enter this third lockdown, we are following, as before, official guidance produced by the Government and the Church of England. That the Government has allowed churches to remain open for worship and private prayer seems an affirmation, both of the Church’s efforts in making our buildings Covid safe and the support we are giving to those who seek our guidance on spiritual and mental health issues. The Bishop of St Albans has emphasised that, while the possibility of Covid transmission in church is miniscule, each parish is free to make its own decision, to continue to offer public worship, taking into account the local context, including its ability to provide a safe environment. Because each context is different, that decision may be different in one place to another. One size does not fit all and we should refrain from make judgments about others.

Following consultation with the ministerial team and the PCC’s Standing Committee, it has been decided that, as things presently stand, we should keep the building open for private prayer between 12noon and 2pm from Monday to Saturday. We shall also continue to celebrate the Eucharist on Sundays at 10.15 and Wednesdays at 12noon. This will be reviewed, if circumstances change.

While we warmly welcome everyone to our services, no-one should feel under any pressure to attend. This must be a personal choice. Most of the more vulnerable members of our community wisely chose not to attend on the past two Sundays when attendance dropped down to a fifth of our electoral roll. However, those who did attend found plenty of safe space. The opportunity to pray privately or worship in church is clearly valued by a significant number, to whom this is ‘a lifeline’, and has been a major reason in our decision to keep St Paul’s open. We also hope to stream services and addresses soon, and I thank members of the ministerial team and PCC for their help in ensuring pastoral care, especially as many people are housebound or live alone.

We remind everyone to comply with the national requirements of Hands, Face and Space. Those with coronavirus symptoms should stay at home; there should be no mingling with anyone outside our household or support bubble; a social distance of at least two metres must be maintained, and hand sanitizer must be used and face coverings be worn.

As we, like the Wise Men, journey on this hard road through Epiphany, let us pray for each other, for the doctors and nurses in our National Health Service and for those who deliver our essential services. As we look to the future, let us remember that God is faithful: so let us together “put our hands into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”

May God bless you all,

Fr Kevin

We are still open - an update

St Paul's church remains open following the latest Government announcements regarding Covid-19. We are open every day between Monday and Saturday for individual prayer, between 12.00 Noon and 2.00pm and when church welcomers will be on duty. Worship also currently continues with a weekday Eucharist at 12.00 on Wednesday and the main weekly service at 10.15am on Sunday.

All the necessary precautions a in place to ensure to everyone's safety and we kindly ask visitors to wear face coverings and sanitise their hands on entry and exit to the church. PLease check back here regularly for further updates.

Faculty notices

		Form 4A - Public Notice - Water Leak
		Form 4A - Public Notice - Vestments
		Form 2 - Vestments
		Certified Minute - Vestments
		Statement of Needs - Vestments
		St Pauls Bedford - Statement of Significance - High Mass Sets
		Purple High Mass Set Fabric

Faculty notices relating to our installation of full Wi-Fi in St Paul's

		Form 4A - Public Notice - Wi-Fi in the Church
		Form 2 - Diocesan Advisory Committee Notification of Advice
		Pinnacles Wi-Fi Water - Certified Minutes
		Report to PCC Regarding Wi-Fi in Church
		Bedford St Paul 1043 Interim Faculty letter - 16 October
		Wi-Fi Cabling Description
		St Pauls Wi-Fi - Microsmiths (BT)

Details of church worship

When the church reopens the following protocols will apply.

		The church will be open at 09:45am for the Eucharist which starts at 10.15am.
		The wearing of face-coverings is now mandatory.
		A limit of 60 people can be seated in the main body of the church. Seating has been arranged to accommodate a mix of individuals, couples and families.
		Social distancing rules apply.
		The service will be a Said Eucharist.
		We ask members of the congregation to enter through the North door and exit through the West door, making sure to use hand-sanitiser on arriving and leaving and before receiving Communion.
		Communion will be received standing at the front of the Nave and will be given in one kind only.
		After the service please leave via the West-door, no refreshments will be provided until further notice.
		Worshippers' details will be taken and kept for 21 days to facilitate Track and Trace, if necessary.
		Worshippers are reminded to self-isolate if there is a confirmed case of Covid-19 in the household.

St Paul's Church is awarded 'Major Parish Church' status