COVID-19: Church of England update

Following the government statements on the move to Step 4 in the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions in England, here, the Church of England has issued the following statement on the development of its guidance to churches. A Twitter thread is also seeking input on items which might be covered in this guidance.


Updated Monday 12th July, 6.32pm

A spokesperson for the Church of England said: “We note the Health Secretary’s statement in the House of Commons this afternoon and the Prime Minister’s press conference this evening confirming plans to move towards the next stage of the Government’s roadmap on July 19 while urging caution in response to rising cases of Covid-19 propelled by the Delta variant.

“The prospect of the lifting of legal restrictions will be both a relief and a cause of anxiety and we are aware that there is likely still to be significant guidance in place.

“We have already been considering our current guidance to churches and are awaiting updated Government guidance for places of worship.

“We will also be seeking further clarification through the Government’s Places of Worship Taskforce, which meets later this week, on a range of areas affecting public worship and places of worship.”


Comment

As noted in our weekly update on 11 July, the Church’s statement acknowledges both a relief and a cause of anxiety” accompanying the prospect of the lifting of legal restrictions, and the cautionary note that “there is likely still to be significant guidance in place”. It notes that further clarification through the Government’s Places of Worship Taskforce is awaited; this meets later this week, and will consider “a range of areas affecting public worship and places of worship”.


Cite this article as: David Pocklington, "COVID-19: Church of England update" in Law & Religion UK, 13 July 2021, https://lawandreligionuk.com/2021/07/13/covid-19-church-of-england-update/

 

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