To Members of Provincial Boards, Committees and other bodies
Cc General Synod Office Staff, Diocesan Secretaries and Offices
18 March 2020
It will come as no surprise that, following the announcement at the end of last week regarding the postponement of General Synod 2020, we are similarly suspending physical meetings of provincial boards, committees and similar bodies for the time being. (“For the time being” means at least until mid-June and we will keep the situation under review.)
In some cases, this will mean simply that meetings are cancelled altogether. In others, it will mean that alternative ways of conferring and decision making will be explored. The secretaries of provincial boards and committees will be in touch with the relevant conveners in the coming days, if that has not already happened, to discuss specific arrangements in relation to individual boards, committees and similar bodies.
The Government has advised that where possible employees should work from home. The General Synod Office is heeding that advice and has moved to a system of homeworking where that is possible. For the moment, we are continuing to operate the central switchboard but would encourage those needing to contact the office to do so by email since employees working remotely should be able to access emails. It is the case that in some households, there may be a number of people all working from home at the same time and that may be a limiting factor in employees being able to access computers, emails etc so please bear with us if there appears to be any delay in getting back to you.
We have already issued a series of guidance notes on behalf of the College of Bishops in relation to the coronavirus and its implications for clergy and congregations. As matters develop, we will continue to post relevant updates to the dedicated page on the provincial website: https://www.scotland.anglican.org/coronavirus-updates/
Thank you for your understanding at this time.
Best wishes
John Stuart
Secretary General
