Announcement regarding the reopening of First Church, Belfast

On Wednesday past the Committee of First Church met and decided to reopen the church building for Sunday Services from the 2nd August. Our reopening will be in line with all governmental and scientific advice and we will follow our own set of protocols to ensure everything is done in a manner that put people’s safety first and foremost. These protocols will be available as a pdf from our website www.firstchurchbelfast.org and should be able to be downloaded as soon as they are ready. Notice will be given when they are up on the website. Hard copies will also be available, and the protocols will be posted in the vestibule. These protocols will be considered as a living document and will be subject to review if and when the official advice changes. We would ask anyone planning to attend the church building from the 2nd August to familiarise themselves with these protocols and to adhere to them at all times.

We understand that some people will not feel ready to return to church because of their individual circumstances. In light of this, we will continue to upload a service of worship every Sunday. This will either take the form of a pre-recorded service that will be similar to what will happen in Church, or it will be a recording of the 10.30am Service that will be uploaded to our Facebook page and YouTube Channel at a later time on Sunday. At the moment we are looking at the various practicalities involved in this.

Please do not feel obliged to come back to church if you are not ready to do so. As said, there will be alternatives in place to enable people to participate in the service, even if it is remotely.  We would love to see people back in our building, but only when they feel able to do so.