Church response to the coronavirus

We are listing links to advice from the churches across Britain and Ireland, including updated advice following the latest restrictions, plus guides on topics that might be useful, such as how to move some aspects of Church online and copyright issues of streaming services. This page will be updated on an ongoing basis.

Updated 5 January 2021

General coronavirus advice

Ecumenical organisations and groups

• Churches Together in England (CTE)
  • Coronavirus web hub
• Churches in Ireland
• Cytûn (Churches Together in Wales)
  • Covid-19 information
• Joint Public Issues Team

Churches

• Baptist Union of Great Britain
• Catholic Church in England and Wales
• Church of England
• Church in Ireland
• Church of Scotland
• Church in Wales
• Congregational Federation
• Coptic Orthodox Church
• Methodist Church
• Methodist Church in Ireland
• Moravian Church
• New Testament Assembly
• Presbyterian Church of Wales
• Quakers in Britain
• Quakers in Ireland
• Salvation Army
• Scottish Episcopal Church
• Undeb Yr Annibynwyr Cymraeg (Union of Welsh Independents)
• United Reformed Church

Directories of churches holding services online

• Catholic Church in England and Wales
• Church of England
• Church of Scotland
• Church in Wales
• Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference
• Methodist Church
• Presbyterian Church of Wales
• Scottish Episcopal Church
• United Reformed Church (URC)

Webinars exploring online Church

• The Digital Church Webinars:  From Survival to Revival – Premier Digital
• World Council of Churches (recording from 29 April 2020)
  • Churches’ ministry online
• The Church of England‘s Learning Labs is running webinars to help teach digital skills.

Guides to using online technology

• Covid-19: Digital Tools for Church – A crowdsourced directory for churches.
• Online Church for Beginners – Churches in Ireland
• Keeping your church community connected during the Coronavirus shutdown – Baptist Union of Great Britain
• Livestreaming worship – Church of England
• Getting your church online – URC
• Online church guides – Diocese of Llandaff
• Safety and security while video conferencing with Zoom (from technology company Wordfence)

Copyright issues of online services

• Live streaming worship music and staying legal (UK) – Bespoke Records

Reflections on online Church

• Everyone Welcome Online – Bob Jackson and George Fisher
• The Distanced Church: Reflections on doing Church online – Heidi A Campbell, Editor (Creative Commons)

Help initiatives

Neighbourhood schemes

• YourNeighbour.org – initiative to help churches be good neighbours

Foodbanks

• Friends of Your Local Pantry scheme – food provision for neighbours at risk of severe poverty.
• Coronavirus and foodbanks – Trussell trust
• How to help foodbanks under pressure – Joint Public Issues Team (JPIT)

Finance

• Charities Aid Foundation (CAF): COVID-19 Hub
• Just Finance Help Hub

Children’s Ministry

• How to explain to young children about the coronavirus from a Christian perspective (PDF)
  Written by early years experts Sonia Mainstone Cotton and Tamsin Grimmer.

Mental health

Mind & Soul Foundation – Aims to educate, equip and encourage the Church in the area of mental health. Includes articles to support mental health during the coronavirus crisis.

Archive

Holy Week Statement from British and Irish Church Leaders