Mass on Sunday: it will be lovely to have some back in the church for Sunday Mass after so long, I am sure many of you will be pleased to be at Mass.
We have approximately 50 seats and over 300 people at Mass each Sunday. I have added a Mass to give greater capacity, but there is not enough room for everyone. We must also keep a record of those who attend for track and trace purposes should there be an outbreak connected with anyone at church.
This means you must book if you wish to attend Mass and you cannot expect to be able to attend Mass every week; if you come during the week for weekday Mass, you must not come on Sunday in order to give others a chance to attend. You will not be able to book again until others have the chance to attend Mass.
To book please use this email address, stmichaelsbooking@outlook.com booking will be open from 12.00 noon on Thursday to 12.00 noon on Saturday. Please say how many seats you need for your household and which Mass you prefer, please also state whether one of your number would be willing to be a steward.
I will continue to live stream Mass at 09.45 and 11.15 and on Thursday morning at 09.30. Live streaming will be a slightly different experience for you because there will be background noise from those attending Mass. At Holy Communion I will switch the sound off because of the noise of people moving: I suggest you say the prayer of Spiritual Communion yourself, at the end of the Mass you can say the prayer on your own.
When you come to Mass.
- Please do not come to Mass if you are not feeling well, coughs, colds, tummy upset, sore throat or fever.
- Sanitise your hands when you enter the church and you must wear some form of face covering throughout the Mass, except to receive Holy Communion.
- Follow the instructions of the stewards to your seating. On the downstairs pews there are black and yellow crosses, please do not sit on the crosses they are for social distance spacing, some pews have three seats and so have only two, this is to achieve 1m distance.
- Remain in your seat until instructed to go for Holy Communion, row by row, waiting for the previous row to return to their seats before moving. When you come to Holy Communion please approach with arms at “full stretch” so that there is a good distance between you and the priest.
- At the end of Mass, please remain in your seat until requested to leave, row by row, by the steward.
- When you leave you can place your collection in the large bucket, please do not remain near the doors but step further away into the garden.
If you would be willing to be a steward at Mass occasionally, please let me know which Mass and what dates you would be available.
This will be a new experience for all of us and you know how difficult re-opening the shops has been, so be patient and understanding.
Please view the guidance video on YouTube or Facebook which will be available soon. Please also read the guidance on the News & Events page. Thank you.
