CLOSED - AGAIN
Holy Trinity, Vancouver re-opened for services Sunday, June 14, nearly exactly three months since the last service (March 15). The building and grounds were prepped, physical distancing signage was in place, service bulletins and disposable masks were just inside the entrance. Greeters were outside to ensure a steady entrance flow, just inside to direct and instruct, upstairs in the narthex, and inside the sanctuary to direct parishioners to the new seating order.
HT has a big sanctuary, so ensuring people were six feet apart wasn’t a problem. Everyone was able to experience good line of sight and most importantly hearing. Singing of hymns and responses was done by a cantor five metres from the congregation. Parishioners were very understanding and co-operative with all the new measures. All in all the reopening couldn’t have gone better.
During the ‘lockdown’ Holy Trinity’s parishioners ‘buddied up’ and kept in contact with one another. Yet on June 14 all agreed: “It’s good to be back!” As a parishioner posted of Facebook afterwards: “Hearing God’s word together as a congregation is what draws us closer as a community.”
TEXT AND PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY SHARON GROVE
IMAGES
- Welcome Back!
- The rector, the Reverend Karl Przywala
- The nave during worship, physically distanced
Rev. Przywala's June 14 sermon audio with text captions and illustrations is available below.