Northampton rector believes reopening of churches will help people heal after coronavirus lockdown

The rector of All Saints Church in Northampton believes the reopening of churches will help people deal with the pain of the coronavirus pandemic.

Places of worship will be able to welcome back congregations with social distancing from July 4, having been shut since March.

The Rev Oliver Coss is looking forward to having people back in the George Row church after nearly four months of isolation and services on video conferences.

"There's a distinct holiness about the place of worship that is used for prayer and worship," he said.

"It's been really hard for people and there's been so much hardship in the world and a place where they usually go when times are tough has been closed off for them."

For centuries, churches, mosques, synagogues, gurdwaras and others have been a place that is always open to those in need.

But the strict rules imposed during the coronavirus lockdown to reduce the spread of the disease saw places of worship close their doors at a time of tragedy.

Fr Coss and many other religious leaders have been taking their services online with sermons held over Zoom becoming the norm on a Sunday.

"It's been a long old haul and I think for us, who have spent a great deal of time over the last three months live-streaming and trying to keep in touch with the congregation online, to see other people will be the highlight of reopening the building," he said.

"It's been a very strange time and for everybody, it's been isolating and different and difficult at times so it's something we look forward to with great anticipation but it will not the same quite yet."

Places of worship were allowed to reopen for private, individual prayers from June 13, but July 4 will be the major milestone for a return to normality.

All Saints Church has a capacity of 950 people but Fr Coss thinks it will be a while before it will be full again - at least there is room to keep the congregation at a safe distance though.

The guidance for places of worship is yet to be released but is expected soon - Fr Coss said that will give them a better idea of how things will work come Sunday, July 5.

But he remains cautious about forgetting about the threat of Covid-19 and will be keeping vigilant while celebrating the congregation returning.

"The virus isn't going to go away overnight but it's a key opportunity for us to test the waters and see what impact it will have on things like transmission rates in our local area and help people to deal with the patent trauma of this time," he said.

"The reality of conversations with someone virtually or online is it's just not the same.

"I probably used Skype a few times before lockdown but now we're all on Teams or Zoom and other sorts of media going on.

"But somebody's body language is impossible to replace so being able to talk to people face-to-face, from a safe distance, will be great."