Dear all,

As you may have seen the First Minister has announced that all of Scotland will move to Level 0 on Monday 19^th July.

The main effects of this for churches is that we can move to 1m distancing between household groups from that date, which will be good news for larger parishes / smaller churches where numbers are restricted by the 2m distancing currently in force.

For parishes currently in Level 2, such as the City of Glasgow, this also means that we can begin congregational singing from Monday 19^th July (albeit only from behind masks!).

The maximum attendance at weddings and funerals will rise to 200 from Monday 19^th July, although in most churches a lower limit will be required due to how many we can safely fit in at 1m distancing and how many we can realistically cope with in terms of stewarding, name checking, etc. People organising weddings and funerals may just assume its 200 everywhere so you’ll need to be careful to communicate the actual limit in your church.

There may also be changes that affect halls, etc. – you can check at https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-protection-levels/pages/protection-level-0/

Remember that we must still collect names and phone numbers and all those not exempt must still wear face coverings in church.

With best wishes

Canon Paul Gargaro

Diocesan Coordinator