St Andrews Church
Uncertainty over Covid restriction levels has resulted in St Andrew’s Parish postponing celebrations marking its 150th anniversary.
Sesquicentennial celebrations were set to take place at Cambridge’s St Andrew’s Church from August 27 through to September 4.
David McCathie, the parish’s sesquicentennial committee chair, said the committee met last Saturday afternoon to chart the way forward in the wake of an extended Level 4 lockdown.
“We have made the decision to postpone the sesquicentennial celebrations. We do not know yet when we will have them in the future,” he said. “As the containment of the virus is top priority for us all, it is in the best interest of the community to postpone.”
He said there were concerns that Covid alert levels could change plans for the celebratory events. “We need to go to Level 1 by the week in which they start, otherwise we are totally restricted by numbers. There are only 10 people at a gathering at Level 3, and 100 at a gathering at Level 2 with one-metre social distancing.”
Stalling major local events isn’t new for David. Last year, as chairman of the Cambridge Autumn Festival committee, he had to cancel the 2020 Autumn Festival on the back of the first Covid Level 4 lockdown. That event returned in March this year, outstripping previous years in terms of attendance.
The St Andrew’s Parish sesquicentennial line-up of public events was planned to mark 150 years from September 3, 1871, the date on which a group of laymen met to establish a parish in the area.
