Bishop of Salisbury calls for churches to stay open during second lockdown

Bishop Nicholas has written to all the MPs in his Diocese including John Glen to register his "dismay at the proposed restrictions on places of worship".

He says there's no evidence churches are leading to an increase in Covid -19 cases and they should be allowed to stay open with precautions in place.

"Over the last 6 months, we have collaborated closely with Ministers and officials to keep people safe. In my experience, churches and the cathedral are among the most responsible in the implementation of the Covid-19 guidelines. So far, no evidence has been given that suggests that places of worship have been places of contagion."

"Churches are a key part of the social capital of your constituency and are deeply involved in the development of the local networks that are so vital at the moment. Of course, an individual and household can pray anywhere but good works grow in church communities out of worship. That churches can continue to be open for private prayer requires them to be supervised. Particularly in rural parishes, this will be more difficult to do than careful and well-supervised Sunday worship. "

Under the new lockdown rules, places of worship will be closed from tomorrow (5th November), unless they are being used for funerals, individual prayer, formal childcare or other essential public services.

He added

"The immediate challenge will be how to keep Remembrance Sunday, a whole community event, and the subsequent Sundays into Advent when possibly the only way of doing so will be online. This does underline that worship is not a leisure or just an interest group activity but an essential service with and for the whole community. Worship is directly connected to the health and wellbeing of individuals, communities and the nation."

"I ask you to do all you can in Parliament to modify the lockdown arrangements so that churches will be able to function in what is already a very limited but safe way as at present."

Meanwhile, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, together with the Bishop of London, have joined national faith leaders in calling on the Government to permit public worship during the forthcoming lockdown in England.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, the faith leaders set out how public worship can play a vital role in supporting social cohesion and mental health and offer "an essential sign of hope".

They conclude:

"We call on the government to recognise and support this, and enable us to continue to worship safely, as part of the essential fabric of the nation."