COVID Update from  COS 20.01.22

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Dear all,

Here is the latest Covid intimation from 121 - the website has not yet updated

Also - presbytery have given permission to Dull & Weem to serve post-service refreshments as of this coming Sunday,

Best wishes

Neil

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Whyte, George <gwhyte@churchofscotland.org.uk>
Date: 20 Jan 2022, 07:53 +0000
To: Whyte, George <gwhyte@churchofscotland.org.uk>
Subject: Covid-19 Update 20 January 2022

 

To all Ministers and Presbytery Clerks and copied by others to Deacons, Interim Moderators, Locums, Probationers, and Congregational Contacts

 

Dear Colleagues,

 

You will be aware that the First Minister gave a Covid update to Parliament on Tuesday afternoon. Her general tenor was optimistic:-

 

• the vaccines have proved highly successful in reducing serious illness and transmission

• the Omicron wave of infection seems to have peaked so

• most of the extra control measures introduced in December could be relaxed over the next couple of weeks;

• we are still in a pandemic and that Covid-19 has not yet become endemic but perhaps that day is coming into view.

 

The Church’s Covid Group met on Wednesday afternoon to consider what she said and what advice we can offer.  The civil servants tell us that they will update the Scottish Government “Places of Worship” guidance before the end of this week and we will be paying close attention to what is published.

 

Once we have seen what they say we will update our website content and when that has been done I will let you know. We are once again moving into a time where there may be fewer rules but with a continued need to take care in ways appropriate to our local circumstances.

 

Before we see the full text of the Scottish Government guidance and given the content of the FM’s speech we would offer the following advice.

 

Worship:- Given that the requirement for distancing in indoor venues will soon be removed we suggest that from Sunday 30 January you may wish to relax some of the extra arrangements introduced in December in response to the Omicron variant.  If you reintroduced the signage and one-way systems in December to prevent bunching these can be removed. While 1m distancing will not be a requirement, local office bearers may still wish to have at least some of the sanctuary with distanced seating as a reassurance for parishioners.

 

Please note that it is still a legal requirement to wear a face covering in church (as in shops, on public transport etc.) unless you are exempt. We will continue to discuss this with the Scottish Government given what many see as the anomalies which exist between our worship settings and, for example, hospitality venues.

 

We are seeking confirmation regarding distancing for choir/band members and those leading wedding services which was increased (in law) from 1m to 2m to stem the spread of Omicron.

 

Tea and Coffee after the service:- We believe that this can be (carefully) resumed from the 30th January.

 

Funerals and Weddings – there continues to be no general cap on the number who can attend these services and their associated receptions.  Where these services are to take place in Church it is for the local office bearers to make decisions about safe capacity now that distancing rules will be removed from 24th January.  Mitigations should be applied including the legally required face coverings for the congregation.

 

In-person meetings of Kirk Sessions, Congregational Boards, Presbyteries, the Guild and other church and community groups: – We think these can be resumed from Monday 31st January again with the familiar mitigations which were deployed last autumn; hand hygiene, cleaning of touch points, ventilation, face coverings where distancing is not possible and food or drink is not being served.

 

GENERAL POINTS

 

Mitigations:- Hand hygiene, cleaning of touch points, ventilation – should still be used for Sunday worship and weekday events. Face coverings are compulsory in services. The virus is still here.

 

Risk Assessments: - Given that we are still in a pandemic we need to persist with Risk Assessments and, with the changes being announced, these may need to be revisited.

 

Lateral Flow Testing (LFT):- We recommend that those attending services and other activities continue to take a lateral flow test prior to meeting others. The Scottish Government, with our assistance, are working on plans to use up to fifty churches as hubs for the regular distribution of LFT’s to other churches and places of worship in the area. Bryan Kerr from the Covid Team is co-ordinating this work and will be in touch with churches who might be able to act in this regard.

 

Test and Protect Registration of Attendees: - We believe that this remains a good practice for those attending worship and a legal requirement for those sharing in hospitality.

 

As I said at the start, the only information on impending changes to general Covid restrictions we have at the moment is what was in the First Minister’s speech. We hope to have more detail in the coming days and, where this would amend or supplement the advice set out above, we will send a further communication.

 

In the meantime, stay safe as, God willing, we continue to see this awful pandemic receding.

 

Best wishes

 

George

 

 

 

Rev Dr George J Whyte, Principal Clerk of the General Assembly, 121 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4YN (0131 240 2240 Ë07825 53 57 57

Scottish Charity No SC011353 This email transmission is privileged, confidential and intended solely for the person or organisation to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, you must delete the message immediately without processing it further and you are asked to notify us of the error by email to gwhyte@churchofscotland.org.uk.  All messages passing through this gateway are checked for viruses but you are strongly recommended to check for viruses using your own virus scanner as the Church of Scotland will not take any responsibility for any damage caused as a result of virus infection.

 

Further information and advice on a number of topics is available on the Church of Scotland website www.churchofscotland.org.uk including specific advice on various matters relating to the Coronavirus pandemic which can be found at https://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/resources/covid-19-coronavirus-advice

 

Linkage News 19.01.22

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Dear Friends,

 

Your essential service information for this week is as follows:

 

• Dull and Weem - 9.30am – Neil Glover

 

• Strathtay - 10.30am – Geoff Davis

 

• Aberfeldy -10:30am – Neil Glover

 

• Zoom this week is from Aberfeldy– 10:30am - (Rm 920 598 9200, password 316316 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9205989200)

 

 

Some other important news

 

LOST Apple iPhone

An iPhone has been found in Aberfeldy Parish Church on the window sill in the Sanctuary – could this be yours or belong to someone who came with you to a service.  (The phone has a broken screen and back plate)

 

Linkage Covid Group

 

Yesterday, the Scottish Government announced several significant changes to the Covid – 19 regulations – these changes become effective on Monday 24 January.

The Linkage Covid Group met earlier today to discuss these changes.

Key points from this morning's meeting:

• Unfortunately, there will be no changes this week

 

• Masks will remain a legal requirement

 

• Encouraged to take a lateral flow test

 

• Keep indoor group gatherings as small as our circumstances allow for now -until the end of the month

 

• Groups using our church premises will be able to resume from Monday 24 January 2022

 

• The Linkage Covid - 19 group anticipates there will be a further update on the  guidance from the Church of Scotland in the near future

 

 

 

The current guidance and legal requirements are outlined below 

 

 

How can you help?

 

• Do not attend a service if you are showing signs of Covid - 19

 

• Please take a lateral flow test before attending a service (these are available at the local pharmacy or can be ordered online through www.nhs.uk

 

• Masks must be worn by everyone unless you are medically exempt. If you struggle because your glasses steam up, the local optician sells a spray which prevents this happening! Unfortunately, mask wearing is required for all our musicians and choirs, as we are unable to comply with the current legal requirements

 

• Please ensure you maintain a 1m distance from members of other households and 2m if you possibly can

 

• If you wear a visor, please maintain a 2m distance from members of other households

 

• Please use the hand sanitiser provided

 

• You may find you are not able to sit in your 'normal' seat or pew. The seating arrangement is probably one of the most difficult aspects of the current social distancing requirements!

 

• Please follow the one-way system in our buildings The back doors at Aberfeldy Parish Church will no longer be in use during our services

 

• You can meet up and chat outside the buildings. Unfortunately, it is no longer possible inside

 

• If you are attending with small children, please could you try to encourage them not to run around!

 

• Please get your Covid - 19 vaccination and get your booster dose

 

 

 

 

 

What are the Kirk Sessions doing to help you?

 

• Trace and Protect – registration of everyone entering our buildings. If you have a smart phone, please bring this along and sign in using the QR code. Do not worry if you do not have a smart phone your details can be recorded by our wonderful welcome teams

 

• Increased ventilation in all our buildings. The doors and windows will be wide open, so please bring warm clothes! Increasing the level of fresh air in our buildings is to help reduce the risk of Covid – 19 transmissions

 

• The worship leader will read either the bible passages or prayers. This reduces the movement of individuals during a service and multiple use of the lectern

 

• The buildings will be thoroughly cleaned between services when it is not possible to have a 72-hour time period between our services

 

 

All regular church and community activities are now cancelled due to the current Covid – 19 restrictions unfortunately this includes weekly coffee

 

 

However, there is one important exception

• Aberfeldy Alcoholics Anonymous – Aberfeldy Parish Church, Kitchen

Continuing to meet 7.30 – 9pm every Tuesday

Contact –- 01887 820936

 

Latest Coronovirus (Covid – 19): advice from the Scottish Government on staying safe and protecting others.

 

https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-staying-safe-and-protecting-others/

 

For all the latest Covid updates from The Church of Scotland please visit

www.churchofscotland.org.uk

CLIMATE EMERGENCY. We are planning to re-form an 'Eco Team' at Aberfeldy Parish Church  in order to help us as a church community and as individuals to focus more on God's call for climate justice. Please contact Anna Sibbald (a.gordon48@live.co.uk or 07759 404980) if you would like to be involved in any way. 

 

 

 

 

 

If you know of anyone who is struggling to heat their house and / or pay their energy bills, please do pass them on to us at Warm Connections, and we would be delighted to advise on ways of reducing our energy consumption and bills. 

 www.warmconnections.net or email advice@warmconnections.net.

 

Breadalbane Community Larder

 

For emergency support call 0345 30 111 00 (Mon – Fri 9.00am – 5.00pm) or email breadalbanecommunitylarder@btinternet.com

 

The Community Larder is open at Offizone on Kenmore Street each Saturday from 11.00am – 12.30pm for customers to purchase dried and tinned goods at a reduced rate – 4 items for £1.  A FoodShare table is also available for anyone keen to reduce food waste.

 

The FoodShare table at the rear of Aberfeldy Parish Church is open 24/7 and often has a variety of goods which would otherwise be sent to the Co-op's bio-digester.  It's our Christian responsibility to 'tend the garden' ie our planet so we can all do our bit to reduce food waste by 'shopping' at the FoodShare table from time to time.

 

We are currently in the process of having a more permanent shelter erected as the gazebo won't last the winter weather.  We've already trashed one and don't want this one to go the same way!

 

If you know of anyone struggling to make ends meet, please let them know about the range of support provided by Breadalbane Community Larder.

The Larder is a joint initiative of several local churches and also involves members of the local community.  If you would like to be involved, please contact the team on 07513 ‍652597 or email breadalbanecommunitylarder@btinternet.com

 

 

Support

We recognise that for many the current restrictions and uncertainty can make life very stressful. The ministry team can offer pastoral support, but for a few this may not be enough. Perth and Kinross Council have an excellent directory of services. You can type in:

Perth and Kinross Mental Health Directory 2020 or hit the hyper link below.

 

https://www.pkc.gov.uk/media/46386/Mental-Health-Directory-of-Services-Covid-19/pdf/Mental_Health_Directory_of_Services_Covid19_(1).pdf?m=637353449218700000

 

Contact details

Neil's email -  nglover@churchofscotland.org.uk

Neil's mobile – 07779 280074

PA – Judy Ewer – judy.ewer@adwgls.org.uk

Mobile – 07836 565528