When it comes to Stage 1 of the province’s Open for Summer plan, the consensus of the congregation of most churches is that it’s all or none, for now. Opening the doors for less than a quarter of each church’s capacity is not enough for a proper in-person service, says the representative for one St. Albert church.
“Fifteen per cent really doesn't allow us – due to the layout of our church – to hold in-services,” said Harold Koblun, chair of the congregation for the St. Albert Evangelical Lutheran Church on Glenview Crescent.
“The way it's set up, you just couldn't get enough people in there.”
The church serves a flock of about 180 souls and is set to celebrate its 55th anniversary in September, though right now the message at the top of its home page explains that current services remain virtual: “All on-site worship services are cancelled until further notice.”
Koblun said the building has a secretary and minimal administrative goings-on, but as far as regular Sunday services, “it's been over a year, we haven't had one.”
Instead, it offers a YouTube channel for weekly online worship services instead, like so many other places of worship in and around the city and throughout the province.
Things are slightly different at Braeside Presbyterian Church, where May 30 saw the light shine in once again with a return to in-person worship for up to 33 people on Sunday. Rev. Janet Taylor confirmed that they practiced social distancing, sanitizing, and even kept records for contact tracing, something that it is optional under the province’s eyes, plus they wore masks during worship.
“We also livestream and then post worship to our website, so people have three options for participating in a worship service,” she said.
On communion Sundays, each household brings its own bread and juice so safety protocols are maintained, though the church does have pre-packaged elements for the forgetful.
Koblun said COVID-19 has not infected any member of the congregation at the St. Albert Evangelical Lutheran Church and that they’re all weathering the pandemic as best as possible.
“I think most of them are happy because most people are law abiding. They don't want to push the envelope. They realize this is serious stuff. They would just assume to wait until things get a lot better.”
