An ambitious target of planting 10,000 new, predominantly lay-led churches by 2030 headlines the recommendations of a briefing paper issued by the Church of England’s Vision and Strategy group in late June.
“We strongly disagree with the decision to suspend public worship during this time,” the faith leaders wrote in a November 3 letter. “We have had reaffirmed, through the bitter experience of the last six months, the critical role that faith plays in moments of tremendous crisis, and we believe public worship is essential.”
London's oldest parish church, next to one of the city's largest coronavirus care hospitals, recently hosted the premiere of a new anthem, a setting of a historic collect, "In a Time of Plague and Common Sickness."
