On the evening of Wednesday 22 July, we have held our first Meeting for Worship in the Meeting House again since we closed our doors exactly four months earlier. It was also our first "blended" worship ever, with a couple of Friends joining the Meeting House worshippers over Zoom from their home. Blended worship is here to stay for some time, as we can only welcome a very limited number of people to our building at present at any one time, and we are also aware that many Friends prefer not to return to worshipping at the Meeting House at this stage. If you are interested to know more about our arrangements for in-person and online Meetings for Worship, please contact our Warden at boawarden@gmail.com

As from today, our building is also available for hire again. Naturally there are some limitations to this at the moment. Please refer to our Venue for hire page for up to date details.

In recent years, we have often opened our garden as part of the Bradford on Avon Secret Gardens events and seen up to 400 people taking a stroll through it during a Sunday afternoon. Naturally we can't welcome crowds of people this year, so Secret Gardens has gone virtual. On Monday 1 June Claire Paccalin came around to take a video of our garden. Check out the Secret Gardens Facebook page to watch videos of gardens from all over Bradford on Avon - a new one will be added every day in June until all are up there.

In other news, our Warden Klaus Huber is temporarily back at work this week, primarily to work out practical arrangements for the re-opening of our Meeting House (once this will be permitted) - in consultation with House Committee and Area Meeting Trustees, and informed by discussions with other Wardens and similar role-holders from throughout the country. He will also get in touch with our regular hirers before going back on furlough on Monday 8 June.

From Friday 1 May, Klaus Huber, our Resident Warden, will be on furlough, initially until the end of May. He will continue to live in the Warden's Flat and receive his full salary, but it is hoped that 80% of his salary will be reimbursed through the government's job retention scheme, easing the pressure on our charity's finances, at a time when our Meeting Houses in Bradford on Avon and Devizes are closed and not generating any income from room hires. During Klaus's furlough, it will still be possible to get in touch via the normal phone line and e-mail - the out of office messages will provide contact details for Angela Le Grice, one of our Trustees, who will be dealing with any urgent queries. At present Trustees are planning to bring Klaus back to work for a few days on Monday 1 June, with possibly another furlough period after this, depending on further developments around the coronavirus situation.

On Sunday 22 March, three Friends came together for Meeting for Worship at Bradford on Avon Quaker Meeting House. After this, the building closed its doors for worship and any other activities until further notice.

How do we keep together as a community? - One simple way is to sit in silence at home during our usual worship times, knowing that many others will do the same then, and holding each other in the Light.

For those who prefer to see and hear fellow worshippers, Bradford on Avon Quaker Meeting has now set up online Meetings for Worship. It's easy to join these with more or less any suitable gadget. You can also join them by (non-internet) phone - in this case you won't be able to see anyone, but you'll still be able to listen to spoken ministry or give some yourself.

If anyone is interested in finding out details of our online Meetings, please contact Klaus Huber at boawarden@gmail.com