Church communities coming back together in Shropshire

But as restrictions have lifted in the past couple of months, church members have been able to not only have services in person, but also start hosting social events once again.

Socialising can be a vital part of the church community and many parishes have felt the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and have had to adapt quickly.

Now, as summer is upon us, classic community events like church fetes and coffee mornings will once again become a regular calendar staple.

The team at Trinity Churches in Shrewsbury, which consists of Holy Trinity Meole Brace, Christ the King Radbrook and The Church in the Meet Place, have been hosting a wealth of events to get people back to socialising.

Reverend Fi Iddon, associate vicar at Trinity Churches, said it's been great to get back in the community at church and their Cafe Connect meets in Radbrook.

"We've been making the most of our outdoor space with, among other things, our outdoor cafe, a Mediterranean evening, churchyard trails and lots of outdoor services," she explained.

"Just this week we've hosted 'Holiday at Home', where more senior members of the community gathered for a day of fun activities, delicious food and wonderful company. Our toddler groups are now taking a break for the summer but began meeting again as soon as regulations allowed for them to do so.

"Sunday church has been open since Easter Day, and we are delighted to now be able to sing again, albeit behind our masks.

"We're thrilled to be able to offer a really large space for weddings and baptisms as families gather to celebrate together after such a long time. As always, there is a really, really warm welcome to everyone at Trinity Churches and in the Trinity Centre and Cafe Connect."

Reverend Debbie Loughran, vicar for the East Telford Benefice and rural dean for Telford Deanery, said it has been great to have people back in church and at events across the area.

"Certainly Covid meant that the in-person social side of church which people benefit from has had to be put on hold and that sort of sharing of food and time has been much more difficult with restrictions in place," she explained.

"That has meant that things like Christmas fairs and summer fetes were called off for those periods. We are starting to pick up again now though and obviously we have kept in touch with people and connected with people for the first time online.

"Oakengates Town Council have put on a few events where Holy Trinity Church Oakengates have had a few stalls and many churches now have fetes planned for September which will hopefully allow people to reconnect with others and open our doors a bit more to the community again.

"Holy Trinity Wrockwardine Wood along with St Peter’s Church Priorslee have been going down to Casey's and joining in with their craft fairs – they've had a table down there and been getting involved with events.

"We are also going to be bringing back Messy Church in September for families. It is hugely important we do our best to keep people as safe as possible as restrictions are lifted."

Reverend Tim Carter, vicar of All Saints, Wellington with St Catherine's, Eyton, said they are looking forward to holding events in the future.

"We are now back to almost normal again on a Sunday morning," he said. "For us it's been a balance between to enjoy these new times but being aware there are lots of people who are still anxious.

"We are still wearing our masks but are allowed to sing now which is great. We have had a lot more people back which is really encouraging and we hope it continues to grow. We are also continuing to live stream our service."

The church held an open garden event in Eyton which Reverend Tim said was a lovely event, where people could see each other outdoors again.

He added: "There was very few baptisms during lockdown but since restrictions have lifted, we have had so many people call up about them which is great to hear. When meeting new parents who have had children over lockdown, it's been hard without the toddler groups. Our toddler group began again before the summer holidays and will start again in September."