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To keep everyone as safe as possible the Scottish government have issued extensive guidelines for places of worship. These are the rules that we have to follow to open the building. This means that church will look and feel very different. The following give the details and explains why we have to do certain things. Please do read through it. If you have any questions please contact info@shkilsyth.org

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As you will now becoming be used to for other activities the main points are

• Stay at home if you have symptoms

• Maintain physical distancing at all times and follow the one-way system

• Use hand sanitiser when entering and exiting the building

• Wear a face mask whilst in the building (unless exempt)

• Maintain good hygiene when coughing and sneezing

There will be stewards on hand to help you and guide you. To help us to keep everyone safe please do follow any instructions given by the stewards. The requests may seem difficult or unnecessary but they will only be made to help keep us all safe. We look forward to welcoming you to the Storehouse Church.

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COVID-19 Symptoms

You must not attend church if you are displaying symptoms of COVID-19, self-isolating due to living with someone who is displaying symptoms or staying at home as a result of contact tracing. If you display symptoms of COVID-19 during a service you should go home immediately and follow the guidance on what to do if you develop symptoms at NHS Inform (or call 111 if you do not have internet access and need clinical advice).

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Test & Protect

We will be keeping a list (temporary register) of those who attend each service for a period of 21 days. We will be asking visitors for their contact details. This is to support contact tracing as part of NHS Scotland’s Test and Protect system.

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Physical Distancing

Households should stay 1m from other households at all time whilst on the church premises (inside and outside). To help with this we have a one-way system in place, the chairs have been spaced out and the floor marked up. Stewards will guide you as you arrive and move through the building to your seats so that 1m distance is maintained between different household groups. There are a number of points to remember to enable us to achieve physical distancing

• Once inside the building please follow the one-way system straight into the sanctuary. The chairs have been rearranged. To avoid people walking past each other we will ask you to fill up the chairs from the front first.

• The exit from the service will be out of the door to the left of the stage.

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Face Coverings

Face coverings must be worn over your nose and mouth at all times when you are in the church building. A face shield is not considered to be a face covering. There are a number of exemptions in the guidance, including health conditions & disabilities and children under the age of five. If these apply to you then you do not need to wear a face covering. These exemptions are the same as the guidelines for shops, public transport and other indoor space.

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Hygiene

We all need to maintain good hand and respiratory hygiene e.g. when coughing or sneezing, including frequent hand washing/use of alcohol-based hand rub.

• Hands should be cleaned with hand sanitiser both on entering and exiting the building

• Coughs and sneezes should be caught in tissues which should then be binned

• If you do not have a tissue sneeze or cough into your arm (elbow or shoulder)

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Booking for Services

The Storehouse Church sanctuary can safely seat 97 people in 35 household groups for services. To ensure we can safely seat people for services we need people to register that they are coming.

• Please register for the service using the website

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Children

Children 12 and over are required to follow all the guidelines the same as adults. Parents or guardians should ensure children maintain physical distancing and good hand and respiratory hygiene.

There will be no separate creche or Sunday school. Children will sit with their household for the entire service. Activity packs for the children matched to the theme of the service will be available for any children that attend the service.

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Toilets

The three toilets on the corridor (ladies, gents and accessible) will be in use. To reduce cleaning requirements the ladies toilet in the foyer will be shut.

The toilets will be accessed via the one-way system through the doors to the left of the stage. Please follow the signs. To enable physically distancing only one person will be allowed in the ladies and two in the gents at any one time and there will floor markings to help you stay 1m apart if you have to queue.

To reduce the risks to a minimum please “go” before you come to church.

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Individual and Congregational Worship

To follow the Scottish Government guidelines for places of worship these changes have had to be made to our services

• There will be a shorter time of singing by the congregation. We will have a small worship band

• Communion services will use commercially prepared sealed single serving bread and wine

• Collection plates will not be handed round but will be placed on tables at the entrance and exit

• There will be no tea & coffee or other refreshments served