Sundays

We are so excited to finally be able to welcome you back to TVC Church at the Oakwood Centre!

Please have a good read through the information found here so that you are fully prepared to enjoy being back at our services, while continuing to keep the rest of our congregation and volunteers safe.

Our Sunday services will continue to be broadcast live on YouTube and Facebook, every Sunday at 11am and will still be followed by our Sunday Social Zoom catch up.

What to expect

Our services will have many of the familiar elements – worship, prayer and preaching etc – but they will look quite different to our services pre-lockdown.

Arrival

Those attending will need to arrive between 10:40-10:50 in order to get everyone safely into their seats before 11:00am. Face masks must be worn at all times.

Everyone arriving will go through the following process:

Show Ticket

Everyone attending will need to have pre-booked though our booking system. A ticket will be emailed to you that you will need to show on arrival.

Check Temperature

Using infrared thermometers we will check to ensure that no-one has a high temperature.

Sanitize Hands

Hand sanitizer will be available in the foyer and throughout all accessible areas of the building.

Find a Seat

Stewards will help direct you to seats so that households can sit together, socially distanced from others.

During the service

During the service, you need to remain seated or standing by your chair, unless you need to use the toilets. Services will be approximately one hour long.

Government guidance means that we are not allowed to sing together, but the band will lead worship from the stage.

Children’s groups will be running from April 18th. At first we will have limited capacity, with the view to increase for as many children to attend, as soon as we can do so safely. Full information about these groups is available here.

After the service

After the service, please leave the building promptly and do not hang around for a chat, even in the car park, so that we continue to comply with Government guidelines. We will not be able to serve any refreshments at the moment.

Book your seat!

While social distancing remains in place, we are only able to accommodate a limited number of people in the building. We can therefore only welcome those who have a ticket on a Sunday morning.

It is very easy to book a ticket. Simply click on the link for the week that you wish to book and enter your details, then click ‘proceed’. Information is held securely and will only be used to help us to admit the correct number on a Sunday morning, and for test and trace requirements. You will receive a confirmation email with your QR code attached, which you will need in order to be admitted to the building.

Note: If you are on a service team (eg in the worship band, tech team, stewarding, leading or preaching) a ticket will be reserved for you as part of our rota management.

Illuminate – Provision for our children

We are hoping to be able to welcome Illuminate Groups back to The Oakwood Centre on Sunday 18th April.

Until then, we continue to be able to provide resources for use at home. You can find these resources here or by joining our Illuminate Facebook group where we will be encouraging parents to connect their families with the rest of our TVC Church young families while we are all at home.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will I be safe attending services?

We have taken time to study the government guidelines, as well as learning best practice from the Evangelical Alliance and other churches. With the involvement of healthcare professionals, we have developed comprehensive procedures to ensure our services at The Oakwood Centre will be as safe as possible.

I am considered vulnerable. Should I attend?

In line with government guidance, we advise anyone who is vulnerable to Covid-19 to consider staying away from our services. You can still join us online.

What if I have symptoms?

Anyone showing symptoms of COVID-19 (a new continuous cough, a high temperature or a loss of, or change in, their normal sense of taste or smell) or who has be asked to self-isolate (due to being a contact of a case, because of their recent travel history, or at the request of a medical professional for any other reason) should not attend The Oakwood Centre due to the risk that they pose to others; they should self-isolate at home immediately with other members of their household.

Can we sing?

Unfortunately there will be no congregational singing for now, because of the high risk of ‘aerosol transmission’. Apparently, masks don’t help with that either. We are only allowed a small group of singers on the stage, leading everyone else.

What about Children and Youth?

We hope to bring children’s groups back to the building from Sunday 18th April. They are welcome to other attend services, however they will need to be able to remain in their seats during the whole service. If this presents a challenge, we recommend them remaining at home with a parent.
Children under 12 will not be required to wear a face mask.

Can I choose where I sit?

Everyone will be seated in household/’support bubble’ groups, with spacing between each group. You will be able to choose where you sit within the auditorium. Stewards will be be available to assist you in finding seats.

Will there be refreshments?

Government guidance does not permit us to serve refreshments before or after the service.

Will services still be online?

Yes. Services will continue to be broadcast via our Facebook page and our YouTube channel.

What about the toilets?

The toilets will be open and available! They will be thoroughly cleaned before and after each service.

What if I need to cancel my ticket?

We understand that there are many reasons why you may need to cancel your ticket at short notice. Your confirmation email will provide you with a link by which you can cancel your ticket. Please do cancel as early as you are able as we expect our services to be fully booked and there will be others who would love to take your place if you can’t make it.

Can I attend every week?

We know that returning to Sunday services may in many ways feel like a big step. Some of us will be very excited to get back and will want to attend every week, while others of us might be more cautious. We would ask that you are mindful of your TVC Church family members when booking tickets. Please don’t block book and if you have been one week then maybe hold back in booking tickets until the Friday the following week, to give everybody a chance to book. We are making plans to increase our service capacity so watch this space – in the meantime, continue to be full of grace for others.