Church to hold Diocese of Portsmouth’s first ever drive-in Songs of Praise style service

While the government has announced churches can reopen from July 4, strict Covid-19 guidelines are expected to be in place and there are concerns that elderly or clinically vulnerable members of congregations may be reluctant to return.

To allay concerns, St Barnabas Church in Swanmore will see their congregation gather in the car park of Swanmore Village Hall for a drive-in style ‘Songs of Praise’ service. It will be the first drive-in service in the Diocese of Portsmouth and is thought to be one of the first across the UK.

The first service will take place at 10am on Sunday July 5 and will be led by the Rev Claire Towns. With singing expected to be prohibited in traditional church services, Rev Towns was keen to ensure her congregation could still enjoy this part of worship.

Rev Towns said: ‘We decided we wanted to offer people the chance to sing as that is an important part of Christian worship. Our assumption is that the government guidelines will prohibit singing in churches, at least to start with, so we thought we would offer a drive-in service that revolved around singing – as well as our first act of public worship in the church itself.

‘I’m sure we’ll all be able to hear each other singing so that will help us to feel a real sense of community. For people in the village, it’s another sign that the church is at the heart of this community.’

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Participants will have to book places beforehand and choose which hymns they would like to sing. Parish musician, Peter Fellows, will lead the singing from an electrical piano and Rev Towns will lead the service using a PA system. Worshippers will be asked to sing within their cars with members of their own household.

To reduce the risk of shared surface transmission, hymn books will not be used with lyrics and prayers emailed to parishioners beforehand.

For those wishing to receive Communion there will also be a simple, traditional Communion service at 8am on the same morning inside St Barnabas Church. The church is preparing to offer Communion places for up to 15 households who can attend and remain socially distanced.

Further details and place bookings can be accessed via the church’s Facebook page.

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