IF YOU CAN’T GET IN STAY OUT


A cousin's guest post July 4th 2020

What are we? About week fourteen of Lockdown, and although Christians are a minority group, our churches have been denied us* for I think the first time in since Christianity was established in Britain with the mission of Augustine in 597 AD.


St James Ruscombe Berkshire 

Round the back of St Lawrence  Waltham St Lawrence

 















The Church has always been open for business until around March 20 2020 AD.


St Andrew Sonning - OPEN! 

Inside St Andrews 

 
















However, most churches sit in a churchyard surrounded by gravestones that mark those interred beneath them as well as welcome us who visit and seek peace.

 

So make the most of the churches right now by mooching around the churchyard. Churchyards are also known as God’s acre. 

 

God's Acre is a churchyard, specifically the burial ground. The word comes from the German Gottesacker (Field of God), an ancient designation for a burial ground.  – Wikipedia. ** 

 

There is much to enjoy, exploring or sitting, amongst the stones, the lovely flowers and grasses and often a yew tree or two and a seat to offer shade. 

It is a dispiriting time but we can still ‘church crawl’, pull over in the car, park, then walk, sit and wonder at our churches.  Some of my ‘car, park and walk’ drawings are included in this post.

 

*11/06/2020

 

Following a recent announcement that places of worship could reopen for individual private prayer from June 15, the Government has now revised the date in guidance just published to June 13.

 

Link: https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/news/government-update-date-places-worship-opening-individual-private-prayer

 

I telephoned two churches yesterday and both are completely closed until further notice, some churches local to me appear to be open 11 – 12 some days, 

Some like St Andrews Sonning are open EVERY DAY  10 AM TO 4PM  Do visit.

 

** The writer is a regular contributor to Wikipedia

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