Church changes - Page 7

AngelPuppy1 · ‎03-13-2010

I don't know -- I doubt anyone knows at this point. Since there don't seem to be any clearcut answers regarding anything at this point. It certainly gives you a feeling of uncertainty and anxiousness. At least it does me. I'm the type of person who has always needed answers --- why, where, when, etc.

Regarding what you are asking, I don't know if there will be a set bunch of guidelines for basically all church services to follow or whether each individual church will simply adopt their own rules, guidelines, etc. regarding collections, greetings, handshakes, communions, etc. To say that these are uncertain times is an understatement.

"A day without sunshine is like, you know, night." - Steve Martin

CalminHeart · ‎03-09-2010

Our governor cancelled the ban on church services and many other things this week. I'm thrilled all the Catholic bishops in our state united and said they won't open yet. Our state has not even peaked but our governor is more concerned with the economy than people.

jubilant · ‎06-10-2010

@Qgirl26 wrote:
@jubilant, it's funny you mention this because our church has us prepare our own communion to have at home during this time. They have music and tell us we can sing along if we want (which makes me laugh as I picture my son and I singing at the top of our lungs in the living room as we watch) and then they have the message, and at some point they pause do to a prayer, letting us know to have our communion ready. These are just symbols anyway so there is no harm in preparing our own. I agree, as do my church leaders, that God understands. They are doing all they can to make it as normal as possible and I have appreciated that.

Btw, my church is in Indiana. I don't live there, but very close to the state line.

@Qgirl26 Hello, neighbor! I was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana. We

live in a small town not far away from there.

Communion is a remembrance and a memorial to me and a time for

examining my life. I think it's great how your church has decided to handle this.

pommom · ‎03-10-2010

@Boomernichols

Received a call from our pastor last evening. There are only 30 of us in our tiny, yet WONDERFUL, congregation. He is meeting with leadership this coming Sunday to decide whether to open on May 10 - Mother's Day.

Since there are so few of us and we have chairs as opposed to pews, he has already formed a circle in the sanctuary with chairs 6+ ft. apart. We will celebrate communion in little plastic cups and have wafers for the baked bread that was normally provided.

It will be SO hard not to embrace, however, we were already distancing ourselves before shelter at home.

Have missed my church family so much. We provided home made masks for members and then posted on a neighborhood app more available. Placed them in individual baggies in a box outside one of our member's home. Gone in 15 minutes.

Am eager to hear what's been decided.

If your face brightens when you meet a friend, you have struck gold. - unknown

golding76 · ‎05-19-2012

My church will reopen on May 31.

Just as I anticipated, there are multiple changes for worshiping at my Greek Orthodox parish except for the one that I knew would not be altered. Today, we received guidance from our parish, along with all supporting documentation from the Metropolis of New Jersey and the Metropolitan (religious head) of New Jersey. (My parish falls under the jurisdiction of what is termed the Metropolis of New Jersey.)

If you recall, I predicted that there would be no change to the practice of receiving Communion with a common spoon dunked into a chalice. My reasoning was that if this practice has been a bone of contention since the year 1054, it wasn't going to change now. It didn't.

All practices you might expect, such as social distancing, the wearing of masks, hand sanitizing, no choir, no prayer books and hymnals in the pews, etc., are in play -- but the ancient tradition for Communion stays.

From the guidance: "The traditional practice of receiving Holy Communion will not be
changed."

I knew it!

Well, we were also advised that if we fall into any of the groups the CDC deemed as risk, to please participate in the Liturgy via live stream. That is what I'll be doing for a very long time, I guess.

[Forgot to add this. I had mentioned my reluctance to kiss the priest's hand after receiving a piece of blessed bread from him at the end of the Liturgy. They altered this approach by having us pick up a piece of wrapped bread as we exit through the narthex. So, why not change the even more threatening practice of a shared spoon for Communion? I think it is time for a new movement.]

beach-mom · ‎03-09-2010

We've already received direction on some things, but they may change.

As of now:

No hymnals or Bibles in the pews

No choir

No passing the peace

No offering plates

No coffee hour before or after service

Limited number of peaple in Sanctuary - with social distancing

It's almost inevitable that online services are here to stay.

golding76 · ‎05-19-2012

We have the limited numbers, too. You must "register" to attend the service, and an usher will lead you to your seat when you arrive at the church.

Offerings will be given at the end of the service as we exit. (Place donations in a basket.)

Every other pew empty.

Families who have sheltered together may sit together.

You must arrive in your own vehicle, not a Lyft, Uber or public transportation. Someone may bring you and take you home, though.

Give your full name and address and contact info upon entering the narthex. The list goes on and on.

sunshine 919 · ‎12-22-2013

@CalminHeart wrote:
Our governor cancelled the ban on church services and many other things this week. I'm thrilled all the Catholic bishops in our state united and said they won't open yet. Our state has not even peaked but our governor is more concerned with the economy than people.

Isn't that the truth. Glad your Bishops united and made a choice protecting the people.

wildcat fan · ‎03-23-2010

Salons opened this week and it seems it's optional if the stylists and customers want to wear a mask and social distance. I'm aware of one salon where they are not spreading out clients and the stylists aren't wearing masks. Seems there are guidelines to follow, but they are optional. With that in mind, I'm guessing churches will be about the same around here with people choosing to sit as close together as they want to and wear masks if they want.

I've enjoyed watching services online. I even joined a book club through my church. We're meeting once each week on Zoom. I've never been able to participate in one of these book clubs in the past due to my work schedule, but now that I'm working from home, I thought I'd sign up. I've met so many nice people in this group that I probably never would have met if I weren't working from home. I guess my point is I'm content with how things are at the moment with the online services and Bible study.

Icegoddess · ‎03-19-2010

@walker wrote:
Interesting thoughts and comments on this subject. I have been wondering myself. I am worried about our church financially if we don't get back. So far, at my church, they are ok with electronic or mail-in donations. It will be interesting to see how they handle going back....definitely not the same. I will be watching Mass on TV for awhile. Can you imagine being in church and someone sneezes or coughs? 😳 Run! Seriously, it has to get better someday!
😷 and 🙏

@walker my church is in decline due to an aging congregation, so money is a big issue especially since we need media upgrades. The FTC has deemed the frequenies our wireless mics use to now be for TV station use, so we have to get new mics among other things that are falling apart.

Our church plans to start back with in-person services next Sunday. But, they will also be recording the service to put on Youtube becasue there are a lot of people who really don't need to be there. Masks will be recommended and people will be escorted to their seats to maintain social distancing. Not hard to do considering the size of our church and the size of our shrinking congregation. No bulletins. The hymns will be on the big screen so no need for hymnals. I'm in a small singing group and we're going to lead the service, so I won't have to wear a mask at least until the sermon. I can't imagine singing in a mask, but people want hymns, so we're going to do them.

You can get communion individually wrapped. We have done that a couple of times in the choir. They're kinda yucky and you have to know how to unwrap them or you could end up with it all over you. And that might not work so well for aging hands with the loss of dexterity.

I would just as soon kiss the hand shaking, hugging, and hand holding goodbye forever.