Wolverhampton church welcomes people for outdoor meetings
A city church has begun a service to help people come together and reconnect with the church.
St Peter's Church in Wolverhampton has been able to reopen its doors to private prayer following a lifting of lockdown restrictions by the government.
Alongside this, the rector Rev. David Wright and curate Rev. Abbie Walsh have begun a weekly drop-in session each Wednesday at the front of the church.
The sessions allow up to six people to come and enjoy a hot drink and a socially distanced conversation in the open air.
Rev. David Wright said the sessions were inspired by the Places of Welcome scheme, a national scheme the church is a member of.
He said: "Although that scheme has not started up yet, we thought that with the current rulings on six people being able to meet outdoors, we could do something off our own bat.
"It's really important to us to be able to do this because so much of church is about relationships, and what we've tried to keep relationships with congregation members going online.
"There's nothing that matches face to face of course, so to give people the chance to come and chat face to face is really good."
The church has worked to make sure all safety precautions are made, with attendees encouraged to bring their own cups and hand sanitiser made available throughout.
Positive
Rev. David said the turnout since the first session on June 10 had been good and spoke about what it meant to have that interaction with the congregation again.
He said: "This is where we come to worship and work and it's just really good to be back in the place officially to welcome the public back in.
"Our role is not just to be talking to one another, it's to be talking to God and to be talking to people, so the fact that we can allow other folk in is really really positive.
"My message would be to please come as we'll make you welcome and we'll be here if you just want to sit to pray and reflect and enjoy a decent coffee."
The drop in sessions will take place every Wednesday between 3.30pm and 5pm, followed by an evening service.
To find out more, go to facebook.com/StPetersChurchWolverhampton/
