Mr Tom Hunt MP
Thank you for all that Her Majesty's Government is doing in these difficult and unprecedented days to steer the country through the Coronavirus crisis. I appreciate the difficult decisions that are being faced and the compassion with which the Government is seeking to safeguard health. The complexities of such decisions must be breathtaking.
However, as a Church of England minister I am concerned at proposals that all acts of corporate worship must again cease from Thursday 5th November. I understand that the draft legislation will be placed before the House of Commons tomorrow (Monday 2nd November), and that MPs will have the opportunity to discuss the issues and vote on the proposed new regulations.
I am writing to you as my elected representative to add my voice to those who are asking MPs to reconsider this aspect of the proposed lockdown. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales has issued a statement asking the Government to produce evidence to justify such a ban on public and corporate worship. If Churches are able to stay open for socially distanced prayer, on what grounds are services banned, which follow identical health and safety precautions (including social distancing, sanitisation, wearing of face coverings, restrictions on aspects of worship such as Holy Communion and singing).
When a family is able to take their child to school, but not to Church, when people are able to meet in Church buildings for a support group but not for corporate prayer, when Church buildings are open for 'formal child care' but not for public worship worship, questions are bound to be asked on what grounds such distinctions are made. The message being sent out by the Government is that while some gatherings are deemed 'essential', gathering for worship isn't one of them. How is this not relegating religious belief to the category of an optional social activity, and thus an erosion of religious freedom? Such a categorisation of an essential expression of their faith is not one many Christians will find it easy to accept.
To echo the Catholic Bishops' concerns, 'To counter the virus we will, as a society, need to make sustained sacrifices for months to come. In requiring this sacrifice, the Government has a profound responsibility to show why it has taken particular decisions. Not doing so risks eroding the unity we need as we enter a most difficult period for our country'.
Thank you for your consideration of these matters, and I look forward to hearing from you in due course.
Sincerely,
Rev. Mark Prentice