Yesterday, the Scottish Government confirmed that social distancing will no longer be legally required in indoor public spaces, including churches, however, the wearing of masks and the need to take details for track and trace remains in place, and so we will continue to do so. I’ll share more of what this means below, but if you want to read about the changes announced by the Scottish Government, then just click on the following link: 

Scotland to move beyond level 0 – gov.scot

We are aware that there are a mixture of views and opinions about restrictions and the movement out of lockdown within the congregation. For some, the return to “normality” can’t come quick enough, but for others there remains some anxiety about being in larger crowds again. So, in order to ensure we progress through this together, we wanted to give some details about what will happen next in terms of Church Gatherings while we remain in the old building. 

  • Sunday Gatherings:

Over the next 3 weeks, we will increase the capacity of our Sunday Gatherings in 2 steps:

  1. Step 1 – move from 50 to 100 people (Sun 15th and 22nd Aug) 
  2. Step 2 – from 100 to 150 people (Sun 29th Aug)

As we move through these steps and into September, we will keep things under review. We have 2 further options assuming all goes well – the first would be to have no numerical limit in our Sunday gathering (and therefore no need to “sign up” ahead of time), and the second would be to host two separate Gatherings to spread the numbers. As you know, space in the upper room is limited and ventilation is poor, and so we do have to keep this in mind as we move forward (of course, once the new building is complete and ready to use, this will significantly help in these areas). We will consider these further options towards the end of the month and determine what is best at that time. 

Livestreaming on Sundays will continue and we are looking at creating a “camera free zone” in a section of the upstairs room for any personal or family circumstances that require anonymity. Please let us know if this affects you so that we can accommodate those legitimate concerns.

1m Social DIstance Seats: In Step 1 and 2, we are including 10 seats that retain the 1m social distancing. This option is available on our sign-up webpage.

I’ve attached a photo of the layout of the worship space for the next 2 weeks, which will include the use of the sides again, and some 1 metre socially distanced seats will be available on the top level. 

For the moment, we do still ask that you register for the service ahead of time as spaces are still limited. If you’d like to sign up for this Sunday, then please do so here:

Sunday Service Sign Up – Trinity Church Perth

Here’s a quick summary of the Sundays for the rest of August – please note the return of Trinity Toddlers and Creche on Sunday 29 August:

  • Sunday 15 August – 100 limit, pre-register, NO Trinity Kids/Creche program 
  • Sunday 22 August – 100 limit, pre-register, NO Trinity Kids/Creche program
  • Sunday 29 August – 150 limit (inc. toddlers/babies), pre-register, Trinity Toddlers and Creche program available.

We are hoping to add Sunday Trinity Kids in September for Primary School children.

  • Wednesdays:

As Wednesdays have less demand, there is no longer any need to signup ahead of time. We will still ask that you wear masks and register your name at the door, but you can now just turn up on the night. We have 2 Wednesday evening prayer times this month as follows:

  • Wednesday 11 August – sign in on arrival (no need to register) – 40 minute prayer & worship (livestreamed) and 40 minute group prayer and worship.
  • Wednesday 25 August – sign in on arrival (no need to register) – this will be a longer worship and prayer evening and you can drop in at any time between 7.30-9.30pm (but do remember to sign in on arrival). 
  • Other Gatherings: We are considering other gatherings, including some midweek daytime “drop-in” times (for tea/coffee) but we will give more detail on this next week.
  • MASKS: Please remember that masks are still required in most indoor public spaces, including churches and so please wear a mask unless you have an exemption. 

Later in the week we will send a video link by email and also on social media to help you see how things will look from this Sunday and what to expect when you come. We hope this will encourage you to “sign up and get along” to our Sunday and Wednesday Gatherings.

If you have any questions then please send an email or Facebook message and we’ll get back to you.

Grace & Peace

Ian