Not unexpectedly but no less unwelcome for that, our church has now moved from suspension of all public services to having to close its doors entirely.

Bishop Stephen, in a joint letter with the bishops of London, Rochester and Southwark, has written :

In doing this we demonstrate how important physical distancing is in saving lives.

Our most profound desire is to come together with our neighbours. Christ taught us to come together as His Body to celebrate the sacraments. In all the history of Christendom in these islands, we have not before taken such a step.
Partly, this is our modern understanding of how disease is communicated, which in the times of former plagues had not developed.
But it is also born of the teaching of Our Lord that the two great commandments are love of God and love of neighbour. The very love of neighbour that leads us to want to come together requires us to sacrifice congregating for a season.

Sunday Club has also been suspended for the duration.
These are difficult days for us all. Do not cease in prayer for each other.