Back in church

ONE HUNDRED and sixty-eight days (or 24 weeks) had passed since the last time we were able to gather for worship at Holy Trinity Church up at the foot of Bishop’s Glen here in Dunoon.

But on Sunday August 30 we were able to come together for worship – and it was a joy to be back in church with friends, in person and in prayer.

It took some organising to allow a service to take place with appropriate distancing and necessary precautions to comply with the guidelines from both the government and the College of Bishops – and this does change what happens in church, and how it feels, with the wearing of masks, the absence of congregational singing, the abundance of hand sanitiser and the lack of physical contact and refreshments after the service.

But it is important that we do all of this to protect the most vulnerable in our communities – and everybody did, and with good cheer and in good spirit! So it was good to be back, and we look forward to returning to Sunday services at St Paul’s Rothesay on September 13.

There are still those who are unable to return to church physically at the moment, so the online services will be continuing on a Sunday afternoon.

These services have proved to be an important part of nurturing and supporting the faith community, helping people to come together from Dunoon and Rothesay and beyond, with people joining from across the water, from England and even on occasion from New Zealand!

So while the pandemic put an end to services in church for almost half of the year, people have continued to meet and worship and the Christian community continues to grow together in faith and love.

Revd David Railton, Rector of Holy Trinity

Printed 4 September 2020