EVERY BLESSING TO YOU!
A very warm welcome to the parish of St Thomas of Canterbury & The English Martyrs in Royston, part of the Diocese of Westminster.
Our postal address is 6 Melbourn Road, Royston, Herts SG8 7DB. You will find us on the West side of the A10 just North of the central roundabout, towards Cambridge.
The Parish Priest is Fr Philip Knights philipknights@rcdow.org.uk
You can contact us on 01763 243117.
January 2021 update
Things still remain deeply troubling, and we all do have a duty to care for each other and limit our actions on behalf of the common good.
We will be open for public worship but we shall carefully and cautiously observe strict social distancing and other safety measures.
- All our plans are provisional and contingent. Everything should be read in the subjunctive mood: were the grim figures to abate sufficiently … , were we able to open safely … , if we were to have enough available people … , were the Government to still permit us to open … , etc.
- We have updated our risk assessment and shall implement our revisions over the next week. The revised risk assessment can be accessed at: https://parish.rcdow.org.uk/royston/wp-content/uploads/sites/203/2021/01/RISK-ASSESSMENT-FOR-RE-OPENING-OF-CHURCH-Royston-13-j-2021.pdf
- We have also updated our notes for stewards, for sacristans and for readers. These may be found at https://parish.rcdow.org.uk/royston/wp-content/uploads/sites/203/2021/01/Notes-for-Volunteers.pdf
- A small (and socially distanced!) work party will be needed to set everything in place.
- Because the need for stewards, cleaners and other volunteers is critical, we will not open unless there are sufficient volunteers. A sign up list for volunteers is online at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iQtla2N9UxRBqDiABO2uL-Sei4XX8uj9HkGfRN2cd5c/edit?usp=sharing
- We are very conscious of the severity of the situation and although it may be that we have seen the peak of infections, the rate of hospitalisations is still very high and sadly there have been further deaths. We will keep a very careful eye on the figures and if they continue develop in ways which suggest we are at greater risk we shall not hesitate to suspend public worship.
- It is possible that the current regulations and guidelines will change at short notice.
- Amongst the extra mitigations we will introduce are:
- observe stricter social distancing;
- reducing the capacity of the Church, including the sacristy to a maximum of 35 people;
- maximising ventilation by keeping the doors open – this will make the church cold and anyone attending should wrap up appropriately!
- not having altar servers;
- For most masses with the reduced numbers and a more socially distanced way of receiving communion, we will not need a Eucharistic minister in addition to the priest.
- having stewards seat people and direct bench by bench at communion.
- asking that people sanitise their hands not only on entry and exit but also before communion.
Even if the Church is open there is no obligation to come to Mass at this time. Nobody should feel any guilt if they choose to stay home and join with us through our online provision. Some may help by choosing to come to a weekday mass rather than a Sunday mass. Certainly any who are at risk themselves or may be a risk to others are urged to stay home.
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We’re keen to hear from you, so please feel free to contact us!
New to the Parish?
Please click HERE to download a registration form then print, complete and return the form.
Make yourself known to Fr. Philip after mass or at the Presbytery (office hours are shown on the weekly Newsletter/Mass sheet.)
Separate forms for additional adults, please.