CHURCHES up and down the land have had to operate in ways they could never have imagined in this Covid year, with one Catholic church in Glasgow operating what they are tagging “drive through crib viewings” this Boxing Day.
Parish priest Father Jim Lawlor, of the Immaculate Conception Church in Maryhill, said: “Ordinarily at Christmas we would have two and a half thousand through the door in maybe six services but by offering nine I’ll get 450 through the door.
“We usually have a children’s service which is almost uncontrollable, it’s massive, so obviously we cannae do that in Covid.
“So on Boxing Day we’re going to open the church all day and invite wee families to come one at a time with the young children so that they can make a wee visit to the Christmas scene, the crib.
“We’ll give them a wee sweetie, say a wee prayer with each family, almost like a drive-through, to pay their respects to the crib. It’s the craziest, craziest time.”
Church leaders and politicians have been meeting regularly throughout the year to discuss how to keep our places of worship open and what measures to follow.
The Church of Scotland told the Sunday National: “It is for individual congregations to decide whether it is safe and sensible to open their buildings over the Christmas period and all decisions are based around Scottish Government guidance.
“Risk assessments will have been carried out, hand hygiene arrangements will have been made, cleaning and disinfection will have been organised and the church will have been marked out to ensure two metre distancing.
“Face coverings must be worn, and those attending will probably have had to book a place in advance and will have to provide their contact details in support of the NHS Test and Protect system.
“Specially-extended Christmas bubbles are currently permitted to attend worship together, in numbers varying from only 20 people at level 4 to 50 people at level 1.”
The Catholic Church too has worked tirelessly to provide as
close to a Christmas service experience as it possibly can, within the guidelines.
It said: “Although numbers will be reduced in churches this Christmas, the celebration of Christmas Masses will continue as close to normal as possible.
“Livestreaming in many parishes will allow those who cannot attend Mass the opportunity to participate remotely.”
The Scottish Episcopal Church says that its communities have come to adapt, accept and enjoy an albeit different form of worship throughout this Covid year.
The Rt Rev Andrew Swift, Bishop of Brechin, said: “People have got used to the fact that they can now gather together although the numbers are limited, and all the good singers in the churches can sing, they can sing solo.
“There is some beautiful singing behind a screen and Silent Night is something that would make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. So there are positives of what we are still able to do.
“For those who can get to church, other than the cap on numbers and face coverings, they are still going to hear Christmas carols, they are still going to gather with people they know.
“With these limitations I find that as the person leading worship and everyone wearing face coverings, you see the eyes smiling at the jokes in the service even if you don’t see the mouths smiling.”
For information on your own church’s preparations for the festive period, online booking and streaming services, and times of service, you should follow their individual websites.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here