(You now do not need to book for Mass.)
The Government in England has moved to Step 4 of its roadmap out of the lockdown restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 Pandemic. Significantly, all social distancing restrictions are removed in nearly all circumstances and Churches are allowed to enjoy unrestricted worship. Although infections rates are high and continue to rise the vaccination programme has severely weakened the link between infection rate – hospitalization and death. The pandemic is, however, far from over and although legal restrictions have been removed the emphasis is now on organizations and individuals to make judgments about what is the safest and best way forward given local circumstance. After careful consideration, and in line with the recommendations from the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales, the following procedures will be adopted for the Catholic Parish of Brandon and Mildenhall:
1. Seating will be returned to both Churches so that a greater capacity can be accommodated. The Churches of St Thomas’ and St Johns are relatively small buildings and so even at a fuller capacity would not be considered a ‘vast crowd’ of people.
2. Both buildings will continue to have doors and windows open to allow for good ventilation during Mass
3. Social distancing in both our churches is no longer required. There will no longer be the need to book-in for Sunday Mass and People can sit where they wish.
4. People will be invited to line-up for communion in a way that is similar to pre-pandemic Mass
5. Hand Sanitation stations will remain in place and people will be encouraged to use them regularly.
6. Whilst not mandatory, it is strongly encouraged that when the Church is full (i.e., Sundays and big celebrations) masks are still worn whilst in Church, acknowledging that there are people, who for variety of reasons, cannot wear masks. It may not be necessary to wear a mask for a weekday celebration.
7. Both Churches will continue to be cleaned and chairs disinfected after every Mass
8. The sign of peace will not be re-introduced at this time.
9. Holy Water stoups will remain dry.
10. Holy Communion will still only be given under one kind.
11. A physical collection basket will not be introduced at this point. You are encouraged to give online, by bank transfer of by sending in a cheque.
12. Given the limited space and close proximity of people, we will not re-introduce the offertory procession at this time.
13. Teas and coffees will be reintroduced after Mass at St John’s Mildenhall. Given the small room at
St Thomas, however, we will hold on reintroducing Teas and Coffees at Brandon for the time being.
14. Singing will be reintroduced at Brandon from 15 August 2021.
In the coming weeks we will look to:
• Reintroduce singing
• Reintroduce full schedule of readers and servers
• Reintroduce sacristy teams
These new regulations are subject to constant review and will change if local circumstances deem it necessary.
Fr Luke Goymour, in effect from Monday 19/7/21
See the handout below of this guidance that you can download.