At Trinity Church, in Abingdon, we are following the latest government pandemic guidance. Unlike the nightclubs seen in national newspapers we are not at the leading edge and are cautiously moving forward. For the first time people did not need to book in advance. There were more seats available but people could still socially distance. Masks were worn and the songs were still played from videos – not sung.

The preacher was pinged by the NHS Covid-19 app to say she needed to self isolate, and handed on her sermon and notes to another preacher. He began by saying “You may have heard of the ‘Pingdemic’…”

NOTE: Pingdemic is a play on words from ‘pandemic’ and being ‘pinged’ (notified by the NHS app that you have been in contact with somebody who has Covid-19 and that you should self isolate).

The service went smoothly. The sermon and notes must have been very clear.