For the first time in two months, there was clapping, singing and fellowship inside Stithton Baptist Church in Radcliff, Kentucky, as members of the congregation returned to the sanctuary for Sunday morning services. There also were masks, hand sanitiser and social distancing.
On a weekend when President Donald Trump declared houses of worship essential and asked governors to reopen them, some congregants around the country headed for their places of worship with numerous precautions in place.
Pastor Denny Pagel prays during a service at Grace Bible Church on Sunday, 24th May, in Tempe, Arizona. Parishioners practiced social distancing as the church held its first in-person service since March. PICTURE: AP Photo/Ross D Franklin.
Those services in the US followed a frantic two days in which at least one governor reached an agreement with religious leaders in Minnesota to ease restrictions on in-person services while a federal appeals court upheld another’s continuing shutdown of such services.
For Stithton Baptist, the reopening wasn’t about restrictions, Trump’s declaration or the release of guidelines by the federal Centers for Disease, Control and Prevention for reopening faith organisations.
ILLINOIS CHURCHES HOLDING SERVICES SAY THEY’RE TAKING PRECAUTIONS
Illinois churches holding services Sunday despite warnings about health risks during the coronavirus pandemic said they’re taking precautions to protect congregants, from scrapping communion to requiring masks.
While President Donald Trump’s Friday order declaring houses of worship essential prompted some to expand, others said it was simply time to reopen as more people suffer in the pandemic.
“It’s like a physician knowing that someone is bleeding and they can’t do anything about it,” said Pastor John Elleson of Lakewood Chapel in suburban Arlington Heights.
The church reopened its sanctuary Sunday, something that was planned for weeks. Roughly 20 worshippers, including staff, wore masks and stood spaced out. Doors were kept open and communion wasn’t offered, said Elleson, who wore a glove while he prayed for congregants, touching them on the shoulder or side.
Clashes between churches and local stay-at-home orders have popped up nationwide. In Chicago, three churches been holding services for weeks were fined $US500. In Illinois, houses of worship are limited to 10 people to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Some churches said they’d try to expand after Trump’s declaration.
Pervis Thomas, pastor of New Canaan Land Missionary Baptist Church on Chicago’s South Side, urged leaders to lift restrictions and said he was planning for about 50 people. He said there wouldn’t be any singing as a precaution.
“We just want her to recognise our institution as being essential,” Thomas told the Chicago Tribune.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. But for others, especially older people and the infirm, it can cause severe symptoms and lead to death.
Public health officials announced 2,508 new cases of COVID-19 Sunday and 67 additional deaths. Overall, 110,304 people in the state have tested positive and 4,856.
Also Sunday, Governor JB Pritzker released detailed reopening guidelines for different businesses, including salons, restaurants and offices, which could soon open their doors. The Democrat’s gradual reopening plan is tied to meeting public health metrics, with the next phase possible before the end of the month.
On 8th May, a federal court halted Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear’s temporary ban on mass gatherings from applying to in-person religious services, clearing the way for Sunday church services, with guidelines. Pastor Denver Copeland said his congregation has been meeting in the church parking lot for drive-in services since 29th March and hasn’t rushed back, even though his sanctuary space meets the 33 per cent occupancy requirement. “We just weren’t ready,” the pastor said. They made their plans to hold in-person services three weeks ago.
Copeland said Friday’s CDC release of religious guidelines “made it all the more legit” for the timing of their return to in-church services. In a sanctuary which can legally accommodate 1,400, the normal Sunday attendance is 200. Sunday, every other pew was marked off to enforce social distancing and individual bags of masks, gloves and hand sanitiser were available at all three entrances that were left open prior to and after the service.
Tension over when and how to reopen houses of worship has varied depending on the state, as different areas set their own pace for easing pandemic stay-at-home orders. While many announced they would resume in-person services next Sunday on Pentecost, others joined Stithton today in returning to their places of worship.
Faith Baptist Church in Palmhurst, Texas, west of McAllen, held an hour-long service. The church announced its plans on its website 19th May, along with an extensive list of precautions, including urging members over 65 or those with immune system vulnerabilities to consider viewing the service online.
“We’re doing our best to follow what the government has asked us to do. But we also want to be able to try and have services so this is probably how it’s going to be looking for at least a few weeks,” Tad Wychopen II, the assistant pastor, told the attendees.
During his message Senior Pastor R David Harris also emphasised the cautious approach. “Church gathering is important but at this point there’s still health issues and we still don’t know where things are going,” he said.
Many in the Muslim community took a different path in celebrating the Eid al-Fitr – the feast of breaking the fast – that marks the end of Ramadan, when Muslims abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset. Just like they did during Ramadan, many resorted to at-home worship and relied on technology for online gatherings, sermons and, now, Eid entertainment.
Sheikh Yasir Qadhi, resident scholar at East Plano Islamic Center in Texas, delivered an Eid sermon broadcast online from a mosque closed to the public. Outside, his mosque organised a drive-through Eid celebration, one of many at mosques around the country, for kids in cars to pick up goody bags while maintaining social distancing.
Over the weekend at least one standoff between a governor eased while another intensified.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced he scrapped his 10 person limit on group gatherings and allowing churches to open at 25 per cent occupancy if certain safety guidelines are met.
While the leader of the Catholic Archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis, Archbishop Bernard Hebda, welcomed the change, he said parishes should not open if they don’t feel they can meet safety measures. The Roman Catholic and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod congregations had announced they planned to defy Walz’s previous order.
The battle over in-person services continued in California. A split 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld California Governor Gavin Newsom’s ban on in-person services. He vowed to provide plans Monday for how religious institutions can reopen. Many in California had already announced they would violate the state order and hold in-person services next Sunday, on Pentecost.
– Additional reporting by DAVE KOLPACK in Fargo, North Dakota, CHRIS WEBER in Los Angeles and MIRIAM FAM in Winter Park, Florida.
