PORTSOY CHURCH
Serving the communities of Portsoy, Fordyce and Sandend
Scottish Charity No SC000522
Information on measures being taken to allow for re-opening of the Church with Covid Safe precautions
The Church is now open for worship. We have implemented the advice provided by the Church of Scotland to allow the building to be opened safely and to protect the congregation from the risks of Covid-19 infection. As from 9th August there is no legal requirement for physical distancing but for the moment we have decided to space chairs 1m apart.
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There are a number of changes we have made as follows:
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You will be asked to respect those who may not wish to approach at less than 1m and maintain the appropriate physical distancing.
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As we have a limited size entrance please be patient to allow for physical distancing and if necessary queue outside maintaing safe distancing until you can enter.
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You will be asked if you are well and if you have any Covid-19 symptoms. If you are unwell in particular if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 we ask you please not to attend Church
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Chairs will be placed to permit physical distancing of 1m. Please do not move the chairs. If you are with someone from your own household please or you are content to sit next to someone who is happy to be closer than 1m use the chairs which are in pairs.
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Please try to minimise points you touch in the building. Ideally only touch the chair you are sitting on.
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Because the spacing of the chairs limits the size of our congregation we will need to limit attendance in the Santuary if the number who wish to attend exceeds our estimated safe capacity of 100. However we have capacity for more in the meeting room where the service will be relayed to the screen.
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Sanitising gel dispensers will be provided at the entrance and within the sanctuary. Please use this when you come into the buiding and before you take your seat.
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You are required by law to wear a face covering while in the Church building, unless there are medical reasons for not doing so. If you do not have the appropriate face covering spare face coverings will be available.
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We are now allowed to sing but masks must be worn. We will use use appropriate videos and organ music.
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If you need to use the toilet we are limiting numbers in each toilet to a maximum of one person. Please respect this rule and try to maintain physical distancing while using the facilities.
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If you become unwell during the service please immediately alert one of the elders on duty.
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If you are in the highly vulnerable catagory please consider carefully if you should stay at home. Arrangements will be made to live stream the services and will be posted on the website on the Weekly Video page and CDs/DVDs available to allow you to enjoy the services from your own home. The Church of Scotland has produced an assessment tool which it is recommended you use to decide help you decide if you should attend.
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We are required to collect contact details for all attending the service. We will collect these details each week so please be patient and provide the information when asked even if you have provided it many times before.
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Regrettably at this stage we do not feel we are able to offer refreshments after the service. That will be reviewed as we gain experience of organising worship on a Sunday.
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We appreciate this will be a very different experience from attending our services prior to the pandemic but hope nonetheless you will join us on Sunday mornings if you feel able to.