Churches across the state are making plans to resume in-person services on Mother’s Day after Gov. Mike Parson gave the green light recently.
First United Methodist Church in Dexter plans to reopen for services on Mother’s Day.
“That’ll be our start,” Pastor Larry Lawman said. “We’re going through and looking at what we need to do to keep everybody safe.”
Lawman said the church will group families together and separate them from others by the required 6 feet.
“We’re measuring things out,” Lawman said. “We’re thinking about having people on the ends of one pew, and people in the middle on the next pew and back on the ends on the next pew.”
First United Methodist is taking other precautions.
“We’re going to encourage them to bring masks but we’ll provide one if they don’t have one,” Lawman said. “We’ll have some hand sanitizer. We’ll encourage people not to sing in case by chance someone projects anything out. We’ll have special music, so that way they’re not touching hymnals. We’ll keep everything on the screen.”
The church will hold its contemporary service at 9:15 a.m. at Wesley Hall. The traditional service will be in the sanctuary beginning at 10:30.
According to Parson’s Show Me Strong Recovery Plan, churches must limit the number of individuals in their buildings.
For buildings with square footage of less than 10,000, no more than 25% of the facility’s authorized fire or building code occupancy may be filled.
No more than 10% of the authorized fire and building code occupancy may be filled in buildings with 10,000 or more square feet.
First Assembly of God in Van Buren will hold its first in-person service since the COVID-19 shutdown began at 6:30 p.m. Saturday when a special Mother’s Day program is scheduled.
“No more than 50 people will be allowed in the service,” Senior Pastor Dave Truncone said. “Families may sit together but (we) will spread (people) out in the church.”
The church will resume Sunday services on Mother’s Day. Hour-long services will begin at 9:30 and 10:45 a.m. with the same restrictions as the Saturday service.
“After May 10, we’ll review and see what changes need to be made,” Truncone said. “We’ll probably stay in this format until everything’s open fully.”
Westwood Hills Baptist Church in Poplar Bluff will begin in-person services on Mother’s Day but they will be limited to invitation only.
Only 120 people will be allowed in the auditorium because of the social distancing guidelines, according to Executive Pastor Tom Graham. Westwood Baptist will invite people each week based on the Sunday school classes they attend.
If you don’t attend a Sunday school class and are a member of the church, call 573-686-1260, and the church will try to find a spot for you at one of the services.
Everyone should be able to attend at least one service before the normal worship schedule resumes June 7.
Online services to continue
First United Methodist began broadcasting services on Facebook in response to the COVID-19 shutdown, and Lawman said those online services will continue.
“Some people are uncomfortable going to church and some people’s health (keeps them away),” Lawman said. “We want to reach out to those people.”
First Assembly of God will continue to air prerecorded services on Facebook and firstagvb.com.
“We’ve really had a good response,” Truncone said of the online services. “We’ve connected with people from out of state and had conversations. (On April 28) a woman from Las Vegas reached out and said she’s been catching our services. It was very encouraging. That’s been a blessing.
“We have another family from Jackman, Maine, watching. It turns out I went to elementary school with him on the East Coast. They live near the border with Canada and didn’t have a church that they liked nearby. That’s been a blessing.”
Truncone said he isn’t concerned if congregants don’t immediately return to in-person services.
“As a whole churches have improved in connecting with people,” Truncone said. “We’ve spent more time connecting with people. We’ll have some that stay home, but they’re online and in our community. We’re doing a pretty good job of using technology to bring out a gospel and give people an option.
“We encourage them to love their neighbor. There are more ways to connect by plugging in. We’re excited for what things will look like. We’re going to keep a pretty strong online presence.”
The church broadcasts two services and a 10- to 15-minute bible study each week.
Westwood Baptist will continue providing online services on its website (wbcpb.com) and Facebook Live.
The morning service starts at 10:15 a.m. and the evening service begins at 6 p.m.
Faith key to surviving pandemic
Truncone believes faith has been and continues to be critical during the pandemic.
“It has played a big role. I don’t know what people would do without faith right now,” he said. “Talking to people inside and outside our church, every one of them said they took for granted the life they had. … It has definitely reminded people of what is important. We aren’t guaranteed tomorrow. You have a choice. You choose hope or wallow in the negative. Faith is definitely imperative in what we are going through.”
Lawman agreed.
“I can’t imagine getting through this without faith,” Lawman said. “It’s kind of like … times in your life where you don’t see any hope. You’ve got to have that hope. The only thing we can hold onto is hope and God and the promises he makes.”
Editor’s note: The Daily American Republic publishes a religion page each Friday, and content is also shared on our website. If your church has special arrangements for reopening, other programing or you would like to share details of your online presence, please contact us at news@darnews.com, or 573-785-1414.