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Anglicans calling for bishops to do more to force churches to voluntarily suspend worship need to check themselves: bishops have no such power.
It is a principle of English canon law that bishops and church officers cannot act outside either the law of the land or the law of God. The law of the land leaves the power to open or close a venue to worship in the hands of the premise manager who conducts the risk assessment.
No RA, no worship.
Likewise, the power to suspend worship on an occasional basis, i.e. for six weeks or on a set number of days, lies with the PCC and the minister responsible for the parish. Again, not the bishop - only a regular suspension requires their permission.
Likewise, the power to suspend worship on an occasional basis, i.e. for six weeks or on a set number of days, lies with the PCC and the minister responsible for the parish. Again, not the bishop - only a regular suspension requires their permission.
And there’s no general power for bishops to dispense with the requirements of canon law under English law: https://ecclesiasticallaw.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/dispensation-and-ecclesiastical-law/
And even if there was, you couldn’t compel a church to close.
So while it may be the prudent thing to suspend worship at present - and we have suspended it in Outwood, in spite of lower case numbers than the last lockdown - asking for bishops to ‘clamp down’ is asking our leaders to do something they can’t do.
And if you think about it, it’s a terrible idea. Executive overreach is always a bad idea. And some of those advocating this would be horrified if we had a similar clamp down which church law didn’t sanction on, say, gay clergy or lay folk living together out of wedlock.
So spare a thought and a prayer for your bishop who can only encourage, cajole and support through this difficult time in the church’s life. If a change needs to be made, it’s on the government and individual places of worship.
People always ‘want the bishop to do something’, but it also matters that bishops and everyone else is subject to the rule of law. If you want bishops to be all powerful, don’t complain about them when they’re not, but get the rules changed!
