How a Hurstpierpoint church has had to adapt during the coronavirus pandemic

The church is usually packed out for carol and crib services and hosts two weeks of back-to-back nativities for the village school, St Lawrence.

But this year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, services are limited – with some being hosted online.

Reverend Jane Willis, rector of Holy Trinity, said: “Christmas will be very different for us this year!

“Space is limited so services have had to be ticketed, some online, and we’ve doubled up on some.

“We have a wonderful army of cleaners who will go into action between services – cleaning is now the MOST important job in the church – and our choir will have to do the singing for us.

“But in the midst of it all we will celebrate what we’ve experienced all year, that the ‘Light – does indeed – shine in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it’.”

The church’s Midnight Mass and Christmas morning in-person services are being held at 8am and 10am – the 10am service will be recorded and posted online.

Revd Willis praised the church’s ‘wonderful’ team of volunteers who, she said, have gone the extra mile to make these services happen.

“It’s been a huge effort, from so many people,” she added.

“I’m so grateful. Just as Covid-19 won’t leave society unchanged, it won’t leave the church unchanged.

“It’s been hard. Very hard. But we’ve also experienced surprising new life as a church.

“As for everyone, it’s been a real sifting process – we’ve discovered more of who we are and what really matters to us.”

When the first lockdown hit in March, everything changed for Holy Trinity, Revd Willis said. The church did not close but no one could gather in person anymore.

“We’d been praying and seeking fresh ‘2020 Vision’ as a church – but we could never have imagined how 2020 would be,” said Revd Willis.

“As part of that vision was diversifying our worship – we’ve certainly been doing that! It’s been quite a rollercoaster.

“We discovered we were more agile than we realised! We took all our worship online – we’ve now become tech ninjas – a bit of a steep learning curve!

“So Sunday worship was via YouTube, with ‘coffee after church’ on Zoom. Even some of our oldest folk have managed to get online, with younger folk helping them.

“Kids@HT also met on Zoom – with a higher level of commitment than usual Sundays.”

When the first lockdown eased, the church was allowed to gather again, but worship was very different, Revd Willis said – people had to wear masks, stand distanced and were not allowed to sing.

Then the second lockdown hit in November and the church had to pause in-person services and go totally online, before being allowed to gather for worship again this month.

Revd Willis said: “We’ve been so mindful of the many diverse needs among us, from those who are isolated and clinically vulnerable, to students beginning or ending university, to children and parents home-schooling and working from home.

“We’ve been praying for them.

“And we’ve been really creative to gather in a Covid-compliant way – but everyone understands – we’ve had a great turn out, with fun and a real sense of worship.”