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Boris Johnson faces the ire of religious leaders of all faiths for his decision to ban religious services and other forms of worship during the national shutdown.
In an angry and emotional letter to the prime minister and all MPs, nearly 1,200 church ministers from all Christian denominations say they are “puzzled”, “dismayed” and in “great distress”.
The move by so many clergy comes after the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and leaders of the Roman Catholic Church and the Muslim faith demanded a reversal of government.
And it coincides with the furious protests in the House of Lords because war veterans 90 and older were forced to stay outside in the cold on Remembrance Sunday this weekend.
Under the new lockdown rules, places of worship will be closed starting Thursday, unless they are used for funerals, individual prayer, formal childcare or other essential public services.
The ministers’ letter, already signed by 1,161 ministers and priests, begins by telling Mr Johnson that they are praying for the cabinet and urging him to reconsider the decision to close the Christian churches in England.
“Suspending religious services during the first shutdown was something we were willing to do, given the unknown nature and scale of the threat we faced,” the ministers wrote.
Churches have still helped people during the pandemic, even when they are closed for services, like this one that houses a food bank.
“However, the costs were high. Our greatest concern was that for four months God was not publicly worshiped in this country.
“And we have all seen firsthand the profound damage this caused to many people. Since it was restarted in July, the church has been a vital lifeline for many who have been battling loneliness and other negative effects of confinement.”
The churches have done their best to ensure that there is no need to suspend worship again and put in place comprehensive COVID-proof measures, the ministers told the prime minister in their letter.
“As a result, attending church now presents a very low risk of transmitting the virus, much lower than many of the activities that will remain open during this upcoming closure,” they continued.
“We fully support the government’s goal of protecting the nation from harm. We have consistently urged members of our churches to abide by the law, and we have done so rigorously.
“Therefore, we are puzzled and dismayed to discover that your government now plans to close places of worship except for private prayer, thus forbidding Christians to gather for worship.
“We are puzzled that, as far as we know, there is no evidence of any significant contribution to community transmission through churches. And we are dismayed that there seems to be a failure to understand that Christian worship is an essential public service.”
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The priests continued: “It is essential to the mental and spiritual health of millions of Christians. It is essential to giving the nation the hope that Jesus Christ offers. And it is essential to the glory of God.
“For these reasons, the governments of Western democracies, led by the example of Great Britain, have consistently avoided interfering with the right of the church to meet.
“Thus, we find ourselves as ministers and church leaders caught in a serious tension between our duty to God and our strong desire to submit to our government, a tension that we hoped and hoped never to experience in this country.
“It is a matter of great anguish to us and to the Christian people that the government of the nation we love should forbid us to gather together to worship the God who claims our highest allegiance; especially when this has been done without clear reasons why it is necessary. . “
Leading protests in the House of Lords, former Conservative MP Lord Cormack said the government “had not given a shred of evidence why churches should not be open to public worship.”
He said a memorial service had been planned for this Sunday at Lincoln Cathedral, which was “a huge space where everyone can adequately distance themselves socially.”
Lord Cormack added: “Instead, the government has come up with an idiotic answer: that veterans, all of whom are 90 and older, can stay out in the cold and get rain, but cannot go to a safe and socially distant place. cathedral. This is a disgrace. “
Former Bishop of Oxford and independent Lord Harries of Pentregarth said: “While it is true that churches remain open for private prayer, is it not important to recognize that the Christian faith is essentially a corporate activity?
“It is a gathering of the Lord’s people around the Lord’s table on the Lord’s day. Similarly, Islam is no less a communal religion.”
Labor fellow Lord Griffiths of Burry Port, a Methodist minister, said: “On behalf of the many older people for whom the act of worship is the only social activity they have from week to week, when their needs can be taken seriously in account so they can enjoy a sense of well-being, even in these difficult times? “
But defending the church ban, Government Minister Lord Greenhalgh, a close ally of the prime minister, said: “We have reached a critical point in the fight against COVID-19.”
And emphasizing the need to “limit our interaction with others,” he said: “With great regret, therefore, while places of worship will remain open for individual prayer, communal worship cannot take place at this time.”
