Things change every day

Updating the statement we put out on social media only a few days ago

At the parish churches in Cross Roads, Haworth and Stanbury:

We will all continue to pray for the sick and for carers.    Yes, and for the stir crazy at home and those placed in really difficult financial positions by all this.

We will minimize possibilities of infection at services.    No, we have had to cancel all services altogether, although we are in touch with those exploring whether anything is possible beyond keeping St Michael’s open through the day as usual.

We will seek to be aware of those who usually attend worship and begin to build a system to be in touch by phone.    Working at this: we’ve identified 135 households and a number of people who will keep the contacts, but an initial problem on which we are working is that we have fewer phone numbers than we realised.

Will try to make some prayer and reflection resources available.    Yes, we’ve set up brontevirtualchurch.blogspot.com website, and some YouTube possibilities are now being explored.

We would welcome any information about church members or neighbours who find themselves stuck on their own or upset so that we can try to offer the right practical or spiritual support to anybody.    Yes, and we are grateful to know just how much of this is going on in the three villages already.

We will continue to organise regular and special events.   No, we have had to cancel all events, although we are in touch with those planning possible safe walking possibilities.

Meanwhile, the photo is of the bottom corner of the Bronte Memorial in St Michael’s, and the way the monumental mason’s name is cut indicates the memorial was resized when re-erected in its present position.

I’d not noticed this before – and did so this week only because those of us saying daily Matins together in the Bronte Memorial Chapel were observing ‘physical distancing’ (our Bishop correctly points out that ‘social distancing’ is actually something quite different and more worrying) which meant I sat in a position in which I have not sat before.