UKH

Can we assume these are all closed for the duration?

Yes. 

Have you come over all religious?

My understanding is they are closed for services, some were open for individuals to visit for private prayer but that's not allowed now either.

They are open for weddings and funerals.  I 'attended' a virtual funeral, with only close relatives allowed in the chuch, only yesterday.

I think CoE (or predecessors) closed for the first time since 1208

Well why not?

It's at times of difficulty that most people turn to their faith for support, having that taken away is a stark reminder of just how bad things are

Weddings limited to five people

I thought they were usually just for 2?

Out of interest, what happened in 1208?

King John and tbe pope fell out!

Pope banned church services in England... although technically c of e didn't start until the 1500s. Before then it was rc led by the pope. English kings were fed up having to fight and give the spoils of war to the pope, so they decide to start their own religion too. (Simplified version).

I looked it up (I’m bored) it seems Pope Innocent III and King John had a bit of a squabble and the Pope shut down the Church.  

https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/api/datastream?publicationPid=uk-ac-m...

Many churches (I don't know about mosques and synagogues) are doing services online. Some using zoom, others on facebook etc. 

Some are more adept at it than others:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/vicar-fire-alight-stephen-b...

It  does   seem to show a certain lack of faith. As a lapsed Catholic/born-again atheist I could not quite suppress a little chuckle when the Healing Pools at Lourdes were closed down

An old ex-miner once told me that they all believed in God at the pit head.

Can I give a  virtual donation 

No reason if that's what he wants but I assumed he wasn't seeking spiritual guidance unless he's hedging his bets and dabbling in Christianity, Judaism and Islam simultaneoulsy. Hence my sarcasm

One hope regular attendees will cotton on to the irony and spend their Saturdays/Sundays doing something productive.

One hope regular attendees will cotton on to the irony and spend their Saturdays/Sundays doing something productive instead.

Meanwhile in Pakistan the mosques are open for business. Apparently it's the time of year they bring in most money so the religious leaders refused point blank to shut them. After all if you die of the virus it'll be the will of Allah I suppose:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/world/asia/pakistan-coronavirus-tablighi...

Why not turn the empty church , synagogue, mosque into hospitals ,morges.

Good idea. Extend it to sports centres and climbing walls. 

I attended a virtual funeral the other day (not CV), about 270 people watching on Zoom, surreal experience. Only immediate family there, service was outside as the prayer halls at the cemeteries here have been closed.

The mosque near me had it's normal gathering, with a considerable amount attending for weekly prayers.

Have you reported this? It's quite clearly illegal.  

As I understand it Mosques were advised to close by the MCB before the schools did so I don't know why any of them are still open.  

Can I ask if you actually saw this yourself (in which case please do report it) or if it's something you heard or saw in social media or from someone who didn't see it for themselves? 

I know in London the far right have been circulating a video of people praying outside a mosque.  However the video has since been identified as being from last year.  

It's sad either way. 

No one’s taking their faith away; the ceremony/ritual yes

Not an adept then?

from which we get the word interdict, still used of fighter aircraft

What does the pope have to do with fighter aircraft?

Shares in the companies that build them?

the period when churches were closed etc was called an "Interdict".  This is the derivation of the aircraft role known as "interdictor" q.v.

True. But I think my mum was more distressed at her church canceling services than she is at being asked to socially isolate for 12 weeks. 

Religion is a deeply personal thing and for many the church (mosque etc) is also a community space where they feel safe and a sense of belonging. Losing that at a time when they are already isolated from friends/family and frightened about the world is a BIG deal.

Im not saying that these services shouldn't be cancelled, but it still feels like a huge step towards the breakdown of society as we know it I am genearally fairly impartial to my faith, but at the moment would appreciate a blessing and to be held safe in the arms of the church. 

I don't want to take issue with faith here but I'd argue that churches etc by being necessarily rational in their response to C19 are protecting their congregations   and preserving wider society which is a positive thing 

I assumed it mean forbidden in Latin. But that is a guess based on it being similar to the French word.  

I take your point for the individuals, but their closure is absolutely creating cohesion for society.  If religion gave some people special privileges in this situation it would undermine many other people’s resolve.  My day job and my new business are both suffering to slow the horror down.  I’m taking the hit for the healthworkers and potential victims, and the slack created by me doing so is used to allow key workers to move about and interact.  I would be properly livid if my mandatory sacrifice was enabling others to go to church.  

On a BBC news clip last night they showed a congregation crowding tightly into the entrance of a Russian church and interviewed a Russian medical doctor there, who was saying you can't catch coronavirus in a holy place! Sheesh!!

Pubs and churches getting the same treatment seems about fair to me.

Ours will not be a happy household if one is restored to normal opening before the other.

pretty good guess

Scary how irrational people can be. 

Someone needs to start preaching "God says go home and stay there"  

I was under the impression that for many one followed the other.  

Not Methodists though.  

God moves in mysterious ways...

Yes I saw it. Passed it on my walk out to the local stately home park. I reported it as did others. Apparently the excuse was they were allowed to open for individual prayer and they couldn't control how many wanted to pray individually. The police gave a stern warning apparently. I didn't stay to see police arrive, I wanted to be away from crowds. Many churches were open for individual prayer. I wonder if the 'priests' are making efforts to control numbers. I thought about going to look on Sunday but thought of better more productive things to do!

That's ridiculous of course they can and should control people coming into their building. 

I hope they will do so from now on. 

I suspect they will go for the prayer option.