It is our first Sunday meeting together at The Durham Centre since March, but Covid-19 restrictions mean we cannot sing in praise of God.
John Parker asks: what is worship?
From Emmanuel Church on Sunday 6th September, 2020.
Returning to The Durham Centre: how to book your place
The Durham Centre (rear) and The Emmanuel Centre (front)
We’re very excited to be resuming in-person Sunday services from 6th September.
These will be our first Sunday meetings together since March. It will be great to be together again. But things will be different than before, and will take some getting used to. Thank you for your patience as we make these adjustments.
Booking your place
There will be two meetings, at 9.30am and 11.30am, each of one hour.
To collect data from each attendee for NHS Test and Trace and to manage attendance numbers so that we can adhere to social distancing, we will be using the Eventbrite website to book in. Everyone will require a ticket, for either meeting.
Tickets will be bookable within the following time frame:
9.30am meeting: from 10am on the Sunday before, until 9.30am the day before (Saturday)
11.30am meeting: from 12pm on the Sunday before, until 11.30am on the day before (Saturday)
These opening times allow people not in a specific meeting to have the first chance of booking in for the following week.
The link to book tickets for the 9.30am meeting is: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/114411241102
The link for the 11.30am meeting is: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/114409748638
Please note: these links will only be open during the times stated above. If you cannot access the links, please try searching Eventbrite for 'Emmanuel Church'.
We recognise that not everyone may be able to use Eventbrite comfortably. Let's help out those we know who may be in this situation.
Staying safe
Things will be quite different during our Sunday meetings. Please read the following carefully, to help everyone stay safe.
All those attending a meeting must wear a face mask (unless exempt), as per national guidelines.
Do not attend if you or a person in your household has Covid-19 symptoms.
Everyone will be observing social distancing. Hand sanitiser is available.
There will be no congregational singing. One person will sing, from behind a plastic screen, supported by a band of musicians.
There will be no separate provision for children or young people and no refreshments will be available.
Please leave TDC directly as the meeting finishes.
TDC will be cleaned between the two meetings. If you can help, please contact Alan: alan.bell@thedurhamcentre.co.uk
With all that said, we are very much looking forward to exploring new ways to worship Jesus together!
Online services
Even when in-person services resume, we will be continuing our online services: at 10.30am each Sunday via our YouTube channel.
Sunday meetings to return in September
We’re very excited to announce that our in-person Sunday meetings at The Durham Centre (TDC) will resume on Sunday 6th September.
A recap of 2020….
We suspended our in-person meetings back in March 2020, in response to the Covid-19 outbreak. Since then, we have been “meeting” online, through streamed Sunday meetings and Zoom gatherings of our Emmanuel Communities and other smaller groups.
We’re so grateful to everyone who has contributed to these, and it’s been wonderful to connect with new friends who have joined us online from all over the world.
We held our first in-person gathering in five months at TDC on Saturday 1st August, when our monthly Prayer meeting returned - with Covid-19 precautions in place.
Sundays are coming back…
Following a careful health and safety assessment, we will be resuming our Sunday gatherings at TDC on Sunday 6th September.
There will be some changes, to allow us to adhere to government guidelines:
We will be holding two meetings - starting at 9.30am and 11.30am
Each will be no more than one hour, and both will have approximately the same content
Between the meetings, TDC will be cleaned
If you wish to attend either meeting, you should sign up in advance. Further details will be shared nearer the time
All attending a meeting must wear a face mask, as per national guidelines
Everyone will be observing social distancing. To allow this, a limited number will be admitted to each meeting
There will be no congregational singing. One person will sing, from behind a plastic screen, supported by a band of musicians
There will be no separate provision for children or young people
No refreshments will be available
With all that said, we are very much looking forward to exploring new ways to worship Jesus together!
Online meetings
Even after Sunday 6th September, we will continue offering online services - at 10.30am each Sunday, as currently.
Looking ahead…
These arrangements will be kept under constant review so that we are able to respond swiftly to any changes or needs as they arise.
Circumstances may have changed, but Jesus remains the same yesterday, today and forever.
Thank you for your patience, understanding and adhering to the conditions outlined above.