Pandemic woes affect church

            COVID-19 restrictions initially required churches and other houses of worship to hold services online, but since they have been allowed to start holding small gatherings, some churches are experiencing new problems.  

            Although Ontario churches have been allowed to hold services in-person since June 14, they contend with smaller numbers, limited access and schedule changes. Churches open at different times from one another based on their circumstances, and some are offering only online gatherings.  Online services are still available and common, especially with Canada’s COVID-19 cases rising in some areas of the country and the mandated 30 per cent capacity limit. The rules on attending in-person also vary from church to church, with many requiring registration beforehand to attend. 

            Donald Calder is the lead pastor at Temple Baptist Church in Sarnia. He said the online services are generally more populated than the physical ones. 

            “In-person, we’re still under a 30 per cent restriction,” said Calder. “So, there will be more people watching the service than attending it. At the end of a week, the online service will have been viewed 1300 to 1800 times. In-person, we used to have about 800 people on a Sunday, but the limit for our auditorium is now 300.” 

            Calder also said the online services required upgrading when Covid-19 shut down churches during March, April, May and June. 

           “Before Covid, our online service was more of an afterthought,” said Calder. “But once it hit, we realized online would be necessary. We had to upgrade our equipment, and quickly have everything working better. Now, we’re definitely conscious of our online presence.” 

           Having to deal with the new reality of providing online services can also bring technical challenges. Ministers, more used to worrying about the messages they were delivering, had to learn to deal with sound quality and blank screens. 

           “Back in March, our live service quality wasn’t the best, so we did pre-recorded services rather than live ones,” said Calder. “But we’ve been doing live services again for the past five weeks since upgrading our internet. There was one Sunday, though, where we lost service all together, and we weren’t sure why.” 

            Christine Coyle is the coordinator of youth ministry at North Central Windsor Catholic Family of Parishes in Windsor. They said they are experiencing more in-person attendance, but the number restrictions can be a problem. 

            “We took a break from live streaming, but over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been starting it back up,” said Coyle. “We have way more in-person people attending mass. The Family of Parishes has four churches, and six or seven mass times. We do still get a couple hundred people watching online.” 

            Coyle also said though attendance is higher in-person, registration is required and there are lowered capacity limits. 

            “They have to call in beforehand,” said Calder. “And, for example, at Our Lady of Guadalupe, we’ll be fully booked by Tuesday. A lot of the time, you’ll hear the secretary on the phone telling people that we’re booked, and that’s tough on them. Also, at Most Precious Blood, the capacity limit has been lowered from 400 to a maximum of 40, which is an issue.” 

            Coyle said they also occasionally experienced technical issues, as well as having to  help people who had not used live streaming services before. 

           “Sometimes our Wi-Fi isn’t the best, which is the only issue on our side,” said Coyle. “But older people have difficulties finding the service and getting it to work. You have to explain step-by-step, and that’s probably my biggest challenge.” 

            Despite the inherent difficulties of having religious services during COVID-19, these churches and others continue to ensure their gatherings, whether online or physically, are available for the public.