I want to take a little bit of time to give you an update on a couple of things – the first is venues and the second is, of course, covid!
Balerno High School
As you know we were hoping to have been back in at Balerno High School for our services from last week and we let you know that unfortunately a last-minute Edinburgh Council decision meant that this was no longer possible.
I’ve had a few meetings with the school now and we now have a clearer picture of the overall situation at the school. The headteacher, the business manager and myself submitted a scenario to the council to try and explain why our let there was extraordinary and therefore required further consideration and am pleased to say that we have heard back that the council have changed their position and said that the let can go ahead.
There are, however, some other challenges which we need some time to work through – the main one being that there are still some significant ongoing building works happening at the school. These works include replacing the roof, refurbishing and recarpeting the majority of the classrooms, including all the science labs and HFT rooms off the concourse, and most significantly for us - a complete re-wire of the school.
In 2008 we worked with the school and the council to install some electrical equipment, including all the lights, the projectors, screens etc. and unfortunately reconnecting power to these circuits has not been included in the rewire plans. The school and myself are working with the site manager to see why this is the case and to try and resolve this.
During the Easter holidays the plan is that the main circuit boards will be ripped out of the concourse and replaced, along with the refurb of the HFT classrooms off the concourse. This means that were we to have access back in before the school break at Easter, we would have to vacate again for 3 weeks.
Therefore, as a senior team, we have taken the decision that we will remain here at Heriot-Watt until after the Easter school holidays, with the potential first date back at the school being Sunday 1st May.
Whilst this may be an unsettled period time, I was reminded this week of a picture which someone shared with me several months ago – it was of St Mungos Church being lifted up in the hand of the Father ready to be placed down again. Whilst it may feel that we are ‘homeless’ still at present there is great comfort and trust in knowing that we are in the hand of the Father, we are able to meet each week, we have got great relationships with both BHS and HWU and most importantly God remains significant in our services.
We will keep you informed as things move along and do be praying for us as a senior team as we continue to make the best decisions we can with the information we have available.
Covid-19
The second thing I wanted to give you an update on is covid, but more specifically what we are anticipating in terms of changes after 21st March, the date when the regulations are due to change here in Scotland.
Right throughout the pandemic we have aimed to give you the information that you need to make decisions that help manage your personal levels of risk. We also know that we are living in a distinctly polarised society when it comes to all things covid, and our own church family is not immune from that polarisation of opinion.
As we move from legal restrictions to guidance then need for grace, compassion, and love to one another becomes more important than it has been at any other stage of the pandemic. The church has an opportunity here to be a beacon in society in how it approaches difference of opinion.
We know from conversations that the views on wearing face coverings tend to be at extreme opposites; those who can’t wait for the day they can be removed and those who see them as an important part of life as we move forward.
They are the marmite of covid restrictions.
Our plan, dependent upon guidance from the SEC, is to move towards a gradual removal of face coverings in our services. The rationale being that we want people to continue to feel safe and included in our physical services. The removal of face coverings in other areas of society, such as shops, cafes, etc. is likely to create heightened levels of anxiety for a number of people and we want to be sensitive towards that.
With this in mind, we are planning that on Sunday 27th March and Sunday 3rd April we will ask people to wear a face covering when moving about and when singing, but during the notices and times when we are seated then people are free, if they wish, to remove them.
From Sunday 10th April, provided that the Scottish Government and the Scottish Episcopal Church are allowing churches to make their own decisions on managing risk, face coverings will no longer be required in our services. However, if you wish to continue wearing a face covering then you are more than welcome to do so.
We will be continuing to make available the socially distanced seating for the foreseeable future and so people will be more than welcome to continue using this area as a way of managing their personal levels of risk.
If you wish to chat through any of the above, then please do get in touch and I’m happy to chat with you about it.