People who believe in God want to worship him in their churches. However, when the coronavirus swept across our country, one of the first group meetings to go was in our churches. Obviously, such a dangerous virus would play havoc among people hugging, singing, praying and sitting close to one another in church. Therefore, it made sense to close our churches for a while, but not forever. Yes, I know that some nonbelievers probably rejoiced at the closing of churches, but not those who wanted their churches to be open.
But how do you open a church safely in today's pandemic environment? Despite what some national voices claim about there not being much danger from covid-19, you would probably find it hard to get the people in Northwest Arkansas to agree. We have thousands of people who have tested positive for the virus and far too many people dying every day from its savage attack. It's one thing to ignore the obvious, but quite another when the person who dies from the virus is someone you love. Who wants to go to church and be exposed to a life and death environment? If one's faith was strong enough to overcome covid-19, we wouldn't be seeking a vaccine.
My church opened for worship on July 19, and I was really proud of the pastor and deacons for the precautions they took to protect church members. With a sanctuary capable of seating around 100 people, they had divided the pews into thirds on each side of the main aisle so that no one was seated within six feet of anyone else (unless it was a family group). All of the hymnals and Bibles had been removed, and the chancel had been divided so that no one shared the same lectern or microphone. In addition, the offering plates and bulletins were placed outside the sanctuary so that people could give their offerings on the way into the worship center. Everyone was expected to wear a mask, and those faithful folks who showed up for worship did indeed wear a mask -- even while singing.
At the close of the service, which was abbreviated, people were asked to leave from the back first so that there was no gathering of people in groups. Indeed, I was able to attend my church's worship service without even touching anyone, and I felt safe. Granted that our church's attendance is not very large, these efforts of avoiding covid-19 were very important, since almost everyone in attendance was over 65-years-old. You're welcome to attend our church any time you wish since it's far safer there on Sunday morning than it is in any place of business.
What about other churches? I'm sure that each church is unique and is trying hard to prevent its members from becoming affected by covid-19. One church I know about is planning on having its first worship service in several months in the church's parking lot. Everyone is to show up in his or her car, and the service will be broadcast through their radios. The pastor and those involved in the worship service plan on being on a platform for all to see and hear. Since this is a larger church with multiple worship services on Sunday morning, this is a good plan to keep everyone safe while still being together for worship.
Another church with a large membership decided to hold its worship service in its parking lot, but instead of people being restricted to cars, they set up chairs six feet apart and allowed members to practice appropriate distancing while remaining a church fellowship. Of course, they also wore masks.
Other large churches with multiple worship services have designated one service for everyone to wear a mask while allowing attendees to decide whether or not to wear masks during the other services. Social distancing in these circumstances is not easy to maintain, and worshiping in these circumstances is dangerous.
Too many of our churches throughout the United States have ignored the warnings about covid-19 only to have one asymptomatic person carrying the virus infect dozens of worshipers during a single service. That might be forgivable if the result was a slight fever or cough, but it is unforgivable if the result is death or people maimed for the rest of their lives.
We need to get back to worshiping God in our churches, but the challenge is to do so safely so that God may be praised and not mocked. Creative church leaders will find ways to do this; others will ignore the facts and tempt fate.
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Robert Box is the former chaplain for the Bella Vista Police Department and is currently the Fire Department chaplain. Opinions expressed are those of the author.