Social distancing

Guidelines on social distancing should be followed for your place of worship, including:

• Where possible, adhering to social distancing of at least 2 metres or 1 metre with risk mitigation (where 2 metres is not viable) between households.
• For frequently used places, marking areas using floor tape or paint to help people maintain social distance.
• Avoiding any face-to-face seating and improving ventilation (e.g. by fixing doors open where appropriate).
• Closing non-essential social spaces.
• Introducing socially distanced queuing systems so the flow of groups in and out of the premises can be carefully controlled, reducing the risk of congestion or contact.

Other things you can do to help with social distancing could include:

• Introducing a one-way flow in and out of the premises with appropriate floor markings or signage, with restrictions on accessing non-essential areas. At the end of worship time, this could include worshippers leaving one row at a time (or waiting to be instructed by stewards), in order to prevent crowding at entry or exit points.
• Multiple entry points could be opened, and clear signposting or assistance could be offered to guide worshippers and to avoid congestion.
• Staggering arrival and departure times will reduce the flow at exits and entrances.
• Consider introducing a booking system to control numbers. You may want to consider how prioritisation could be given to people who may have a specific need or requirement.
• Any changes to entrances, exits and queues should take into account reasonable adjustments to accommodate those who need them, such as worshippers with physical disabilities.
• Advertising set days or times when your building is open solely for those particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, such as those over 70 or clinically vulnerable.
• Consider changing your car park layout to help people socially distance. You may consider asking people to stay in cars until directed by stewards.

For more information and guidance about opening up your church building check out our recent briefing paper ‘Coming out of Covid-19 – opening up church buildings for worship’

Restrictions on capacity

Although the new guidance allows for over 30 people to gather for times of worship in a place of worship and its grounds, this will very much depend on the capacity of the property. Considering the limits on the basis of the capacity of your building is probably best achieved by measuring the space and laying out the chairs in the main worship area and measuring space in corridors, WCs and access points.

The number of people permitted to enter at any one time should be limited, so there is a safe distance of at least 2 metres, or 1 metre with risk mitigation (where 2 metres is not viable) between households. The size and circumstance (including ventilation) of the premises will determine the maximum number of people that can be accommodated whilst also facilitating social distancing; this may therefore be lower than 30 people. One-way systems and queuing arrangement will need to be considered.

For more information and guidance about opening up your church building check out our recent briefing paper ‘Coming out of Covid-19 – opening up church buildings for worship’

Insurance

The main church insurers have been helpful in offering additional cover for church properties that have been empty during the Lockdown. With regard to your public liability insurance, it is important that you speak with your insurance provider to see if there are any particular measures that you need to put in place.

As churches consider reopening, it is essential they adhere to the Government advice and guidelines. Edwards Insurance who specialise in church insurance and arranged our church block property insurance earlier this year have provided the quotes below for guidance.

“We cannot stress enough that when churches re-open, Insurer and Government advice and guidelines must be followed – Not only in respect of insurance claims but mainly for the safety of the congregation and wider community.”

“Of course the guidelines are issued to help people understand what best practice looks like and how they might best help each other. A blatant disregard for hygiene, distancing etc – such as not leaving gaps between seats and rows (by say taping them off) – would potentially be seen as not taking reasonable care. But an inadvertent error – missed cleaning something despite an otherwise well organised programme may well not be taken as a formal breach of the duty of care and the insurance would not be affected. It’s all about reasonableness in following the guidelines.”

For more information and guidance about opening up your church building check out our recent briefing paper ‘Coming out of Covid-19 – opening up church buildings for worship’

For further information from Ansvar’s Covid-19 updates click here.

There are several things that you need to think about and action you need to take to get your church building ready for you to reopen for worship.

Testing of alarms, lighting etc

It is good practice to ensure the fire alarm, fire-fighting equipment, and emergency lighting are in good order and serviced, as well as ensuring fire exits and escape routes are clear and usable. Lighting and heating should be checked, and gas and electric testing should be up to date, so the building is safe to use.

Legionella

You should be aware of the possibility of Legionella. Where church buildings have been left unoccupied (or minimally occupied) during the lockdown period, there may be an increased risk of Legionella growth in water systems. You should therefore review your water hygiene risk assessments for all water systems. As a minimum, you should allow all water in the system to run out and if necessary, arrange for specialists to test and clean the water storage and pipework.

Cleaning

If a building has been unoccupied for more than 72 hours, there is no need to clean to protect against COVID-19, but cleaning buildings that have been empty is good practice for all sorts of other reasons.

For more information and guidance about opening up your church building check out our recent briefing paper ‘Coming out of Covid-19 – opening up church buildings for worship’

Church Growth Trust has been following the guidance regularly provided by the government around COVID-19 and the second in our series of new and helpful briefing papers to support and guide churches is covering the opening up of church buildings for worship.

From 4 July 2020 in England the government is allowing places of worship to opened up for public worship. There are still a number of restrictions in place and detailed guidance from the government has been provided on how this should operate. This briefing paper sets out some of the government guidelines and aims to make these understandable and accessible for churches; particularly for independent churches. Government guidelines may change and the most up to date guidelines should be adhered to.

‘Coming out of Covid-19 – opening up church buildings for worship’ briefing paper

Church Growth Trust has been following the guidance regularly provided by the government around COVID-19 and are commencing a series of new and we helpful briefing papers to support and guide churches.

From 13 May 2020 in England the government advised workers who cannot work from home that they may travel to work if their workplace is open. This means that building sites can now be open for work and therefore church building projects are restarting. This first briefing paper sets out some of the government guidelines and aims to make these understandable and accessible for churches. This will hopefully help churches when allowing building projects to take place on their premises. Government guidelines may change and the most up to date guidelines should be adhered to.

‘Coming out of COVID-19 – church building projects’ briefing paper