 As of July 2020, the church under the government roadmap is reopen for our Sunday morning service of worship. We are adhering to strict Covid-19 protocols as laid down by the best public health advice and our denomination. ( For list of protocols in place see the HOME page ).
We now have restricted socially distanced seating in the church and so numbers are restricted. Aware of this, we have begun broadcasting our Sunday service live on our Facebook page. Within minutes of the service ending, it is available to watch on that page as a recording. St Augustine said when you sing, you pray twice and for all denominations singing has always been a big part of church life. Due to Covid-19, we are no longer allowing the singing of hymns. However, we do play pre recorded church and secular music and we are blessed within our congregation to have some very talented musicians. Virginia plays both classical and native American flute. Neal plays the violin and Pearse the guitar, one or more of them can be heard and seen most Sundays. Like everything else in life at the moment, church has a different feel to it as we all adjust to the "new normal". However, the one thing that hasn't changed is the warmth and welcome of our congregation, socially distanced of course!!  The church would like to say a big thank you to Gene & Peter at www.sanitisersandmasks for their generous donation of supplies to the church to help make our building a safe place as we continue to battle the corona virus.
As per the Govt. roadmap for the opening up of our economy, we will resume services in our church on Sunday, 5th of July 2020. In returning we are aware that Covid-19 and its continued presence in our community presents us with many challenges in ensuring that all who attend worship do so in the safest possible enviorement.
Our " Return to worship" protocols are laid out in the above document which has been drawn up using the very latest public health advice. We advice all who plan to attend our building to please read. We ask each of you to continue to pray for those whose lives have been and are still affected by Covid-19 and we are thankful to all our frontline workers and all who have played theri part in the battle against the Corona virus.  At the moment and since March 15th our church building has been closed due to the Covid 19 Pandemic. Thankfully, as numbers of both deaths and infections continue to fall, our country has entered Phase 1 of a roadmap to reopen our economy.
Under the roadmap churches and places of worship of all denominations are planned to reopen in Phase 4, that is July 20th. At the moment, under the roadmap, churches are allowed to open for private prayer. As this is not a part of our tradition, people calling into the church to pray, we felt it was not necessary for us to open our doors at this time. All being well, we do hope to open as per the roadmap and available public Health advice on July 20th. We will only open if we are permitted. At the moment we are drawing up the logistics in preparation for our return to our historic home. The safety of all attending and visiting our church is our only concern. There is no doubt, that church will be a different experience for all who attend church, whatever church that may be. Social distancing is here for sometime to come as are handwashing and coughing protocols. Sadly, upon our return, the singing of hymns will not for some time be a part of our worship. May God, the God of many names, keep each of you and those you Love, safe & well.  Please note the following change in contact details for some key personnel within the church.
Our Minister, Rev. Mike O'Sullivan has a new email for all ministry/church/pastoral related contact. minister.unitariancork@gmail.com He also has a new phone number for the same purpose : 085- 095 9191 Our Church Secretary, Mr. Colm Noonan also has a changed e mail : sec.unitariancork@gmail.com  As of Sunday 15th March, all services in the church were suspended in response to the Corona virus pandemic. For those who attend the church, this is a loss and this is the same for churches of all denominations. Sadly, it looks like our closure will not be restricted to the short term.
As of Sunday, 22nd of March, we began to broadcast our regular Sunday morning service on line. The service is available on the church Facebook page and begins at 11am. We are also broadcasting a short Night Prayer service, Mon, Wed and Fri at 10pm. The Sunday Service will be a shorter and amended service. It will be broadcast from the church BUT please DO NOT turn up at the church. Stay Safe, Stay Well #coronavirus#church  We live in extra ordinary times, I for one, am of an age to never have experienced anything like this before. The Pandemic which grips our world will cause in us all varying reactions and degrees of fear, uncertainty and worry. The unknown is a place very few of us want to go to.
However, we will get through this but the crux is, its up to each of us. I would urge all of you to pay attention to advice from our Govt and the HSE Please wash your hands as often as you can and practise " social distancing". You can still talk, chat, say hello and even laugh, just from 2 M apart. Please source your news from reputable sources. Sadly, social media is full of mistruths and panic. Ignore the trolls, keyboard warriors and religious nuts, who wish to do nothing more than spread fear, panic, conspiracy theories and even bigotry. THIS IS NOT THE CHINESE VIRUS. Please keep in your thoughts or prayers ( if you say them ) those who are working on the frontline, our healthcare workers, those we see and those working behind the scenes. Never before have we realised how dependant on each other we are. Of those who may contract Covid 19, most will feel sick for a few days, some will need hospital, some ICU and sadly some may die. Please be socially responsible, think of others. you may not know them, never have met them BUT their lives may depend on your actions. Stay Safe. Stay Well. Show you care and be socially responsible. God Bless Rev. Mike |
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