Taskforce of religious leaders meets with Government to develop plan to reopen churches

May 17, 2020 by Jill

by Cara Bentley, Premier:

Faith leaders and the Government have met and agreed to look at the timeline for churches coming out of lockdown, including possibly allowing places of worship to open at different times dependent on their community and practice.

This follows the first virtual meeting on Friday of the new Places of Worship Taskforce which includes leaders and representatives from the major faiths.

Member of the task force include: The Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, Imam Asim Yusef, Rajnish Kashyap from the Hindu Council UK, Jasvir Singh from City Sikhs and Daniel Singleton from Faith Action.

Earlier this week the Government set out its target to reopen places of worship in step three of its plan to lift restrictions, which is expected to be no earlier than 4th July, subject to further scientific advice. That would be at a similar stage to other places of longer, phsycial contact – such as hairdressers and cinemas.

The task force agreed to consider whether some forms of worship, such as individual prayer, might be permitted in places of worship before they fully reopen in step three, where appropriate and safe to do so in line with social distancing guidelines.

They also agreed to consult their faith communities on changes.

The Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick MP also confirmed that Faith Action will receive £125,000 from the Chancellor’s fund for charities to consult and engage with different places of worship across the country to ensure their views are represented at the taskforce’s meetings.

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