The Serbian Orthodox Church
Parish of St. Andrew
Bedford, Corby. Northampton, Letchworth and Peterborough
Dear Brothers and Sisters.
We are delighted to be able to inform you that at long last we will once again be able to resume church liturgies in our parish following the government relaxations of the Covid 19 lockdown rules and regulations.
We will be holding our first service in Corby on Sunday, 19 July, at 10am, at the Church of St. Elijah, 47 Rockingham Road, Corby NN17 1NJ.
As you would expect we will be complying to all the Covid safety guidelines so we would request that you all read the following conditions very carefully before considering attending the service on Sunday.
- Only 25 parishioners in addition the the priest, a one man choir and the monitors, will be allowed to be in the church at any one time. Households will be treated as one person and will be able to stand in a close group. You may be asked to queue outside, and if so please queue along the wall where distancing markings have been placed to ensure a safety. Please be patient.
- If there are too many people who want to come in you may be asked to leave and wait outside so that others can come in for a while. Please understand.
- Upon entering please use the hand sanitiser provided.
- When inside please purchase and light your candles quickly and leave the candle area so that the next people can can be let in.
- Each person should stand on the markings provided on the floor. Each person should wear a mask at all times. You should bring your own and we will endeavour to supply some also, but you will not be allowed in without one.
- A household group can stand together and you should make it known to the monitors that you are a household group.
- Please provide to the monitor your name and a mobile phone number and email address so that we can be contact you in case we in case we hear that an attendee had been infected with Covid 19. The contact details will be held by the Church and will not be passed to anybody else.
- Take special care when lighting candles and once lit please move to your standing position and do not wonder around the church.
- It is suggested that you stand and bow in front of icons instead of kissing them. The same applies for the priests cross when being served with nafora.
- Parents shall be responsible for their children adhering to these guidelines. If this proves to be a problem we must ask you to leave the church so that others are not put at risk.
- Please avoid direct contact with others in the church and try to maintain social distancing (1m+) when moving through the church.
- Please leave the church via the side door only and please use the hand sanitiser upon leaving the church.
- There will be no social gathering after the services. Any informal gatherings outside the church buildings should be done at safe 2m distances and for a limited period only.
Please note, you should not attend the service if you have tested positive for Covid 19 or you have any of the symptoms for Covid 19. You should also not attend if you have been in contact anybody recently who has tested positive for the virus.
We trust that a more traditional services will be resumed soon but until then please help us all to stay safe and co-operate with above.
The Very Rev. Radmilo Stokic
with the Parochial Council for the Parish of St. Andrew.