Episcopal Cathedral of the Incarnation holds first public service since March

From Long Island-

It is said that Jesus prepares a place for the faithful, the Very Rev. Michael Sniffen noted during his sermon Sunday.

But he conceded his flock probably wasn’t expecting that place to be a marked circle under a tent outside their church, the stunning Episcopal Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City, as congregants gathered in person for the first time since March. The church had been hosting only interactive online services since the coronavirus pandemic hit.

“It is such a joy — and although you can’t see me smiling, I’m smiling — to be in your physical presence after all of these months,” Sniffen said.

More here-

https://www.newsday.com/news/health/coronavirus/episcopal-cathedral-of-the-incarnation-garden-city-1.46711461

Archdiocese of Toronto modifies Eucharist rite to observe safety protocols

From Canada-

For the past three months, the Archdiocese of Toronto has worked on different ways to serve its parishioners safely when the time came for Ontario to reopen.

But the Eucharist, one of the most important sacraments in the Roman Catholic Church, remains a difficult rite to navigate.

It traditionally involves a priest placing a wafer of bread on a congregant's tongue or in their hand, then serving them with sacramental wine from a communal goblet.

Neil MacCarthy, director of public relations and communications for the Archdiocese of Toronto, said the organization wanted to make sure the ritual could be performed safely.

"It would be difficult for someone to look at (the Archdiocese's safety protocols) and say, 'These guys aren't concerned about this,"' MacCarthy said in an interview.

More here-

https://www.iheartradio.ca/newstalk-1010/news/archdiocese-of-toronto-modifies-eucharist-rite-to-observe-safety-protocols-1.12818734

Coronavirus Outbreak Linked To West Virginia Church Grows To Over 40 Cases

From West Virginia-

A coronavirus outbreak linked to a church in southern West Virginia has grown to at least 41 cases, officials said Monday.

The caseload connected to the Graystone Baptist Church in Lewisburg increased after several tests came back positive over the weekend, Greenbrier County health officials said in a statement.

The state has seen multiple outbreaks this month connected to church services and tourism travel to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Health officials are urging residents to wear face masks and follow safety precautions.

Preston County has reported at least 26 cases stemming from trips to Myrtle Beach. Cabell and Kanawha counties have also reported spikes after residents traveled to the popular beach getaway.

More here-

https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020/06/22/graystone-baptist-church-case-count-grows/?fbclid=IwAR356ExcWYI923UIRd4wn65fUb62azk5J9CoKR5WJI8-1niYmIAhrXcNSS4

Get to church or synagogue early; houses of worship open in Phase 2 at 25% capacity

From New York-

The Episcopal Diocese of New York will open its churches on July 1, according to dioceseny.org. 

After July 1, state guidelines will determine the number of people allowed to gather for in-person worship. Masks, hand sanitizer, and social distancing will be required at houses of worship, according to the website.

It’s recommended you check your individual house of worship for guidelines.

More here-

https://www.silive.com/coronavirus/2020/06/get-to-church-or-synagogue-early-houses-of-worship-open-in-phase-2-at-25-capacity.html

‘COVID-19 has provided us opportunity to make fresh start’

From Nigeria-

Archbishop Henry Chukwudum Ndukuba, the 5th Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), told journalists, including NKECHI ONYEDIKA-UGOEZE, that Nigeria’s political class has fueled corruption, insecurity and crisis in the country.

How do you see you’re taking over the leadership of the Anglican Communion at a time the country and the world are witnessing a major health crisis? 

THE context in which we took over the leadership of the church was very challenging, being the time of the outbreak of COVID-19 and the lockdown, which was later relaxed.
Before then, we have had issues of banditry, insecurity, kidnapping and other security issues. Apart from that, there is also an economic dimension, but on every side, our nation, Nigeria, and the world are facing a very difficult time. 

More here-

https://guardian.ng/interview/covid-19-has-provided-us-opportunity-to-make-fresh-start/

Financially Hit by COVID-19, Washington National Cathedral Lays Off Staff

From RNS-

The Washington National Cathedral announced a 15% reduction in full-time staff on Tuesday (June 16) due to the financial impact of coronavirus. Starting July 1, the cathedral — located in Washington, D.C. — will eliminate 13 full-time positions and 13 part-time ones and will furlough another 12 full-time positions.

The cathedral’s doors have been closed since March 12, preventing tourists and worshippers from visiting during what is usually the 113-year-old neo-Gothic landmark’s busiest time of year. In an email to Religion News Service, Chief Communications Officer Kevin Eckstrom said that while donor support has remained strong despite holding only online services, the cathedral has been unable to rent its buildings and grounds for events, which normally helps underwrite operations.

Supporters of the cathedral, an Episcopal parish as well as the seat of the church’s bishop of Washington, can still contribute to Sunday morning offerings virtually, and the cathedral has expanded the ways people can give, but these contributions haven’t been able to compensate for the lack of funding available during the cathedral’s closure.

More here-

https://www.christianheadlines.com/blog/financially-hit-by-covid-19-washington-national-cathedral-lays-off-staff.html

West Virginia sees coronavirus outbreaks in churches

From West Virginia-

Less than a month after President Trump urged churches to reopen, West Virginia has reported a significant number of coronavirus outbreaks linked to houses of worship. According to the state’s public health office, a total of five churches have seen outbreaks.

Those churches are scattered across the rugged, mountainous state. The affected churches are in Jefferson County on the border with Maryland; Boone County, in the state’s southwestern coalfields, not far from the Kentucky border; Hampshire County, also near the Maryland border; and Marshall County, in a narrow swath of the state squeezed between Ohio and Pennsylvania known as the Northern Panhandle.

The state’s Department of Health and Human Resources announced the five-church outbreak in a Saturday press release about a house of worship in Greenbrier County, where it said “at least 17 cases have been identified.” It did not name the Greenbrier church, or the churches in the other four counties, to “protect the possibility of identifying individuals.”

More here-

https://news.yahoo.com/west-virginia-sees-coronavirus-outbreaks-in-churches-200854506.html

Faith leaders working ‘slowly, carefully and deliberately’ to bring congregations back into houses of worship, though hybrid virtual and live services could continue

From Chicago-

Many houses of worship continue to hold virtual services and are proceeding with a gradual return to in-person services.  However, while churches and other houses of worship are now free to hold public, in-person gatherings, faith leaders appear to be easing into it – or even staying remote, for now.

St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, in Barrington, has continued to hold all services online, said the Rev. Jesse Perkins.  The Episcopal denomination’s bishop is permitting clergy to return to work in the building, so the church began Saturday to live-stream services from inside the church, rather than producing worship videos from their homes. 

Perkins said his church is looking forward to the implementation, likely later this summer, of Phase 4 of the state’s reopening plan where public gatherings of up to 50 people will be permitted.  

More here-

https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/buffalo-grove/ct-bgc-faith-services-remain-virtual-tl-0618-20200614-jermvzjtmneahjjibiwttf3i4a-story.html

Singing might not be so great a risk, after all

From Church Times-

NEW scientific evidence from Germany has cast doubt on the claim that singing constitutes a high-risk activity in the transmission of Covid-19.

This and other evidence suggests that, with adequate risk assessment and social distancing, singing could be restored in some contexts as part of church life in the UK.

Stories about the danger of transmitting the coronavirus through singing have proliferated since the widely reported outbreak of Covid-19 in Washington State, where 53 of the 61 members of the Skagit Valley Chorale fell ill after rehearsals on 3 and 10 March, immediately before lockdown measures. The incident was subsequently correlated with two other “super-spreader” events involving choirs in Amsterdam and Berlin (News, 29 May).

An investigation by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, however, established that Skagit Valley choir members were sitting six to ten inches from one another, and sharing snacks and stacking chairs together, and that 19 members with “probable symptoms” were never tested.

More here-

 https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2020/5-june/news/uk/singing-might-not-be-so-great-a-risk-after-all?fbclid=IwAR2cHpQ0NPVdOwpkkiqadJVjaAc5Okj9F1Ml0DlwRmVw6tn90I9hsf0pRko#.XtknXsmSGB4.facebook

Gathering the flock: Services to return, with restrictions

From New Hampshire-

Bishop A. Robert Hirschfeld, who heads the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire, said he wants to “move incrementally, very carefully” in returning to public worship.

Hirschfeld said he’s still putting together guidelines for Episcopal churches here, but he expects those will be more restrictive than what the state has provided. In considering “the way of love,” public welfare must be of supreme importance, he said.

“We don’t believe that the risks of coming together ... outweigh the joy we have in gathering right now,” he said. “It just doesn’t seem prudent.

More here-

https://www.unionleader.com/gathering-the-flock-services-to-return-with-restrictions/article_45158afb-851f-5296-9b64-ed662682c9ca.html

Houses of worship confront COVID-19 as some reopen buildings

From Rhode Island-

Meanwhile, the Episcopal Dioceses of Rhode Island is taking a more measured approach. Church buildings can reopen for very small groups of worshipers if they choose to do so. But most services will remain online for now. It’s something Bishop Nicholas Knisely said has been a surprise blessing.

"We are worshiping in ways, and more effectively, than I would have even guessed," Bishop Knisely said. "We've actually seen in the diocese here, attendance has gone up."

The online services have been especially popular with older people and parents of young children who can't necessarily come to church in person, and Episcopal churches plan to continue to livestream them even once it’s safe for people to attend in person.

"It's as if we have done two decades worth of evolution in two months," Knisely said.

More here-

https://turnto10.com/i-team/houses-of-worship-confront-covid-19-as-some-reopen-buildings

Churches preparing return to services

From Rhode Island-

At St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, the Rev. Christa Moore-Levesque will continue to conduct her live-streamed Sunday sermons via Zoom. The virtual meetings have allowed the congregation to remain connected, albeit remotely.

“They really like seeing each other’s faces,” she said. “I try to say hello to everyone when they come in, and people really like that. It makes them feel like we’re still a community. Everyone knows who’s there worshipping together.”

The online sermons have been about as long as they would have been if the church was open, but Moore-Levesque said her sermons are “not very long” in the first place, typically lasting about 10 minutes in length. The subjects of her virtual sermons have touched upon the coronavirus pandemic, how to cope with feelings of isolation and how neighbors can help one another.

“The content has definitely been different,” she said.

Additionally, Moore-Levesque has offered a weekly children’s message on her YouTube channel, and she also posted videos during Holy Week in April. She has been sending bulletins and children’s activities to families since the shutdown, and following Easter, she began posting stories for children featuring spiritual stories each Friday afternoon.

The decision to continue the live streams in lieu of reopening St. Matthew’s came following guidance from Bishop W. Nicholas Knisely, the Episcopal leader for Rhode Island. He recommended churches in the diocese continue worshipping online through June. According to Moore-Levesque, there have been religious leaders who were surprised by Rai- mondo’s decision to incorporate churches into her second phase of reopening.

More here-

https://www.jamestownpress.com/articles/churches-preparing-return-to-services/

Dr. Anthony Fauci: To keep churches safe, use masks, limit singing and wait to resume Communion

From American Magazine-

As states around the country begin to ease stay-at-home orders, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said churches should adopt “common sense” measures to protect worshippers and the wider community, like requiring masks, practicing social distancing and prohibiting singing.

Regarding the distribution of Communion, he said, “I think for the time being, you just gotta forestall that.”

In an interview with America on May 26, Dr. Fauci said churches in places experiencing a sustained decline in coronavirus cases can slowly take steps to reopen safely by following public health guidelines, including those released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Fauci serves on the White House’s coronavirus task force.

“You always have to take into account what the dynamic of the outbreak is in your particular region,” Dr. Fauci said. “Having said that, when you’re dealing with a nationwide outbreak like we have right now, you've really got to take precautions.”

More here-

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/05/27/dr-anthony-fauci-catholic-churches-masks-communion-covid-coronavirus?fbclid=IwAR3aqkEN_rTJGwIAtSpaKRbbmz5RUrLj4p2f3k-extg8lQ1naNyvA4Ar1-0

So your church is opening up after COVID-19 closures? It won’t be what you are hoping for.

From Millenial Pastor-

It’s been months of isolation, months of mostly staying home to stop the spread of COVID-19. But active cases are going down (or maybe not), and politicians and business leaders are worried about the economic impact of social distancing. And so, for a few weeks now, things have been opening up. Playgrounds and hair salons, dentists and restaurant patios are letting people come back. 

And things seem to be going well enough, so the government announces the next phase of opening, which includes increased gathering sizes. And one of the places you have been missing the most, your church, sends out an email telling you that they are going to re-open for an in-person service on Sunday. 

You heard from a friend that your Pastor was against it, but enough folks were pressuring the council because of freedom of religion, people are getting tired of staying home and surely church should be a safe place right? Plus you are missing your friends, the folks you love to see on Sunday mornings, the other couples that you often go for brunch with following worship. 

Finally, the big day comes, you wake up excited to get back to this important part of your life, to something that feels little bit like normal, seeing familiar faces, hearing  familiar music, being in familiar community. 

More here-

https://millennialpastor.ca/2020/05/26/so-your-church-is-opening-up-after-covid-19-closures-it-wont-be-what-you-are-hoping-for/?fbclid=IwAR35jnVd1x1myaY6nMWMOQ8YqfXkToWO5poxsFbbeU-twFUdHEBq73ieh8Y

Churches altering communion practices in the wake of a pandemic

From Pittsburgh-

With several area Eastern Orthodox churches now holding public services with small congregations, the servers are providing both the bread and wine of communion to parishioners — but without anyone touching their lips to a shared vessel.

With local Roman Catholic churches reopening at the start of June, they’ll be offering the bread but not the wine so as to avoid the traditional use of a common cup.

With local Episcopal churches preparing for eventual reopenings, they also don’t plan to offer a common cup.

These are just some of churches’ liturgical responses, at least for the near future, as Pennsylvania counties increasingly adapt to “yellow” status, opening up with caution amid the easing of pandemic-related shutdowns.

More here-

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/faith-religion/2020/05/25/church-communion-wine-bread-common-cup-spoon-servers-churches-Pittsburgh-COVID/stories/202005220087

Priest arrived to lead Ravenswood church as pandemic hit Chicago; three weeks later, his congregation vanished

From Chicago-

The woman Stephen Applegate replaced at the pulpit earlier this year liked to pop champagne corks at baptisms, write rock-themed Christmas pageants and almost single-handedly saved the church from extinction 27 years ago.

Rev. Applegate, a soft-spoken New York native, made his debut at All Saints Episcopal Church in Ravenswood in mid-February before a congregation still reeling from the loss of that beloved priest, Bonnie Perry, who left after being named bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan.

Three weeks later, Applegate’s voice echoed in a church of empty pews.

Applegate, 68, is an itinerant man of the cloth. But even for someone whose job is to wade into sometimes messy situations — say, when a former priest has been accused of theft or sexual misconduct — there is, as he puts it, no “pandemic handbook.”

More here-

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/5/25/21267742/all-saints-episcopal-church-new-priest-rector-coronavirus-online-services-uptown

Richmond-area churches seeing higher-than-normal attendance online

From Virginia-

While church doors have partially opened for the past two weeks in most of Virginia, many faith leaders have enjoyed an uptick in participation in online services and are looking for ways to retain that interest.

Richmond couple April and Rick Greenwood each lead their respective Episcopal churches on Sundays, though their homilies haven’t been delivered from their sanctuaries for some time because of closures due to COVID-19. Rick Greenwood is the rector at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in downtown Petersburg, and April Greenwood, a 30-minute drive east, is the rector at Westover Episcopal Church, one of the oldest in the country, in rural Charles City County.

More here-

 https://www.richmond.com/news/local/watch-now-richmond-area-churches-seeing-higher-than-normal-attendance-online/article_555e7f0d-8feb-52f0-b35d-ac9d10c253d5.html

A Pastoral Letter from the Episcopal Bishops in California

From California-

From the beginning of the pandemic, our Episcopal congregations and our respective dioceses have been strengthened by prayer, study, and praise. In this time, our churches have never “closed” or ceased in teaching, fellowship, prayer and service to our communities; we have simply continued our gatherings on-line and in homes, bowing to Christ’s authority and the teaching that we are to act out of love for others.

As the weeks go on, the weather is nicer, and our solitude continues, there is pressure to get out, be among people and gather. Churches are a place where we feel that pressure intensely, for we are a people that is embodied and communal, and we often refer to ourselves as “family.”

Over the past few weeks, we have carefully considered how and when we will re-gather in person. We recognize that our plans are not as simple as unlocking a door and walking in. All of our congregations are actively making plans centered spiritually on our love for others, and scientifically on the realities of disease. The reminders from the CDC, and state government tug us into the reality that we still do not know enough about COVID-19 to gather safely in the same ways as before; we need to find new ways to keep our people safe. 

 

More here-

 

 https://myemail.constantcontact.com/A-Pastoral-Letter-from-the-Episcopal-Bishops-in-California---Una-carta-pastoral-de-los-Obispos-Episcopales-en-California.html?soid=1101307179673&aid=wd2ECP_3Vy4&fbclid=IwAR0q7R0riKPMeYR3z2zITmgKjvNaDuRArQHENWijbSBJBdW-mI27G2arwrQ

Official statement from Bishop Provenzano about the White House directive to open churches for public events

From Long Island-

To all the People of God gathered in the Diocese of Long Island, the Episcopal Church in Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk:

Regardless of the misinformed and politically-motivated direction coming from the White House, the Church will continue to be the Church, caring for the safety of all people and protecting the health and well being of our parishioners. 

The Church will continue to be the Church and our buildings will remain closed until we can begin to safely gather in person.

We will continue to pray, worship, share in formation and education through online platforms, and other electronic communication. 

We will care for God’s people and minister to their needs and not put them at risk. 

More here-

https://www.dioceseli.org/media/diocesan-news/official-statement-from-bishop-provenzano-about-the-white-house?fbclid=IwAR1G8dLI85fcquuRGooKPj40nVLPgFMhPxNIJ-g3WsKLJt0tSwCSpA897TE

also here-

https://huntingtonnow.com/episcopal-bishop-says-churches-will-remain-closed-for-now/

St. Luke's Episcopal Church in the Bronx Has Lost 21 Members to Coronavirus

From The Bronx-

There is no shortage of volunteers at St. Luke's Church in the Bronx. It's the largest parish in the city’s Episcopal diocese. The need in this community is great. Since the pandemic began, the food pantry line stretches three blocks. The soup kitchen has more visitors than ever. 

Father Pierre Andre Duvert said his congregation is eager to help, especially because it knows the pain this health crisis is causing. Twenty-one of its members have died from the coronavirus.
“When it hits home, that’s when we understand,” said Duvert.

The parishioners who fell victim were young and old. They came from all over the world. Donald Bookal, the church administrator, was among them. For more than 40 years, he organized most of the church's activities and outreach programs.

“I don’t want to say he was the first one, but he was the first that we knew. Then, other folks started getting sick,” said Duvert.

More here-

https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/coronavirus/2020/05/22/st--luke-s-episcopal-church-in-the-bronx-has-lost-21-members-to-coronavirus