Dear Christ Church Family,
With the coronavirus situation evolving rapidly, we wanted to keep you up to date on the latest implications for us at Christ Church.
Following further guidance from the Church of England we have now taken a few further significant steps, in addition to those communicated on Thursday.
Sunday and Thursday Services
• We will not be passing round the offering bags, but ask that any cash or envelope giving be placed in the offering plates by the main entrance doors, either as you arrive or at the end of the service.
• For everyone’s well-being, we have decided that we will not be serving refreshments after any of our services until further notice. This is to reduce the potential spread of germs. We would however encourage you to stay around and chat to one another as you usually would, as this provides a great opportunity to support and encourage one another.
• We are awaiting delivery of hand sanitiser which will be available for you to use upon arrival at services. Due to high demands, this may not be ready for tomorrow morning, so do bring your own sanitiser or as a minimum arrive early and wash your hands thoroughly.
• Please greet one another with a kind word but refrain from shaking hands or hugging to help limit the potential spread of the virus. This may go against all your better inclinations, but is part of our responsibility of honouring one another, and especially the most vulnerable.
Wider Church Activities
• A few activities have been cancelled due to a variety of factors – these are March’s Messy Church, the Fellowship Weekend, and CAP Café until further notice. Leaders of these activities are in the process of contacting all those affected.
• Life groups will continue as normal at the discretion of the life group leaders. These are a vital place of fellowship, prayer and mutual support. Group leaders will take responsibility for good hygiene practices, so that refreshments can continue to be served as part of those gatherings.
• Our youth and children’s leaders are risk assessing all of their activities to ensure good practice is followed, and will communicate as appropriate with parents and carers.
• If you show any signs of sickness, coughs or colds, please follow the latest government advice to self-isolate for a period of 7 days. In addition, we recognise that some people may decide that they will stay away from church activities for a period of time. If that is the case, please do find ways to keep in touch with others and to invest in your relationship with God.
A few helpful resources:
Our sermons at Christ Church on Sundays and Thursday are recorded and uploaded to our website within 24 hours. They can be found at
If you haven’t already done so, why not subscribe to our podcast series? It’s here on our website or search for Christ Church Downend in your favourite podcast app.
Prayer resources to build on our recent Prayer Course series:
Church of England Prayer and worship resources
https://www.churchofengland.org/
We are continuing to monitor the situation and will seek to communicate any changes in a timely manner. A small group has been convened specifically to address issues relating to the Coronavirus situation. This includes Church Wardens, Clergy and representatives of the PCC and wider church community.
If you have any questions about any of the above actions, or any suggestions or things we can do to improve our care for one another, please do let us know.
Do be praying for one another and for the wider community at this challenging time, and be open to God’s prompting as to how you might support others in the local community and beyond.
In Christ
Rev Paul Peterson
Chair of PCC