Paul Presents: Church in Lockdown with Rev. Marion Wood

Church in Lockdown with Rev. Marion Wood

It has been amazing to see how churches have adapted to the current conditions and kept services and socialising alive with live streaming, video calling aps and social media- but has it been plain sailing or Vicar of Dibley with the need for new technology and have our vicars been having a quiet time of it whilst their churches are shut?

In this light-hearted interview, Marion describes what has been happening at her church just before and during lockdown, in what has been diverse time. Her team’s community role in helping collect groceries and medications for those needing help, chatting to the isolated, ensuring the church remained within safe practice rules at all times and other new adventures in the community. Marion also describes how the new technology has brought church services to the congregation and the learning curve of doing this, as well as the effect of cancelled weddings and baptisms, the lack of social activities to the strict rules for funerals.

The rush for church to return to ‘normal’, however has many considerations, even with churches now reopening, the need for protecting the community has never been stronger and rushing to reopen utter madness.  Marion explains how her church has tackled decreasing Church any risk to a returning congregation by describing what they are doing as the church reopens, as well as the anxiety in the congregation and a need to move  into this new era with a deep respect of not pressurizing anyone to return to church, but to continue to provide the newly learnt technology, until people are ready to return to the church as a Building.