Editor’s note: The Leader reached out to religious organizations representing a variety of Christian and non-Christian faiths. The organizations represented in the article are those that agreed to speak with The Leader.
Restrictions on group gatherings has forced local religious organizations to move online and, in some cases, take creative approaches holiday services.
United Church of Christ Longmont, Light of Christ Ecumenical Catholic Church, The Journey Church, The Well and Faith Community Lutheran Church all learned quickly how to hold services online when the pandemic hit in March. A big surprise emerging from the change was a growth in followers.
For the Rev. Teri Harroun at Light of Christ Ecumenical Catholic Church the idea of moving online seemed like a bad idea in normal times.
“Had you talked to us about this a year ago, us as in the Light of Christ, and somebody had said ‘Hey let’s start using Facebook Live to really broadcast our services and to try to connect with people.’ We would have said ‘One, that can’t work and two, it’s not authentic, church has to gather together. We weren’t thinking outside the box enough, we sort of had to be challenged into it,” Harroun said.
The challenge of looking at church services differently has been embraced by the Rev. Sarah Verasco of United Church of Christ Longmont. She also saw increased interest in her church once it moved online and discovered that requiring people to be physically present was actually excluding some members of the community.
“We had a 100-year-old member who had been pining to come back to church and once we went online, her granddaughter made sure that she was queued up. She has very diminished eye-sight and when she saw the picture of the inside of the church on her screen, she said ‘that’s my church.’ That changed everything for us. Even when we are able to regather at full capacity we will continue to do an online version,” Verasco said.
Light of Christ’s Harroun said, “It has been an interesting discussion for when the pandemic is done and when we can meet in the sanctuary again. How will we maintain a relationship with these folks who have found us but don’t have a way to gather with us in the sanctuary? I think that will be an interesting conversation that a lot of churches are having as we emerge from this. I think you’ll see some exclusive online communities develop after the pandemic, that people will have learned that this might not work for everybody but there are people who thrive in a church environment that looks like this.”
For others it has become a time to bond with family who live in other parts of the country. For Pastor Lucas Kinser at Faith Community Lutheran Church it has been a time to reconnect with his father.
“For me personally, my dad is not a Christian. I have been a pastor for 13 years and he has never been to a church service. He lives in Kansas City, Kansas. But now, because of what we are able to produce online, he is able to start watching our services. For me it has been a big blessing because I have been able to bring the hope of the gospel to him in a way that he probably would not have heard it. It has helped grow my relationship with my dad,” Kinser said.
Being online or in person has not changed churches’ resolve to have meaningful holiday services this year.
For The Well Longmont, Pastor Philip Woods said, “there is a spiritual significance behind getting together as a people and banding together. That’s a high priority in our faith.”
His church will host an outdoor 4:30 p.m. Christmas Eve service in St. Stephen’s Plaza. He is encouraging people to drive up in their cars if that is how they feel comfortable. Services also will be provided online through Facebook Live.
The Journey Church, too, will host Christmas Eve services in person and online. Pastor Rick Ebbers said in-person services will be divided into two sections that allow for proper social distancing in the worship room.
Faith Community Lutheran Church is holding Christmas Eve services at 1, 3, 5 and 7 p.m. online and in person. In a typical year, the church has seen as many as 1,200 people attend Christmas Eve services. This year families are asked to reserve their seats for in-person services. Kinser said the church is putting more effort into the online service this year since the in-person services need to be simple. Both will include pre-recorded music by church musicians.
United Church of Christ Longmont has a bit more planned for its worship services. It is planning to hold Christmas Eve services online with special music beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The church usually holds a pageant as well, and has refused to skip the tradition this year. The Rev. Amelia Richardson-Dress, a colleague of Verasco, has organized a special version of the pageant made for video. The script was written by the church’s youth group.
“It’s all going to be recorded in their homes and then pieced together in one video. The pageant is going to be very different and differently creative,” Verasco said.
Verasco also spent this week working on a surprise for her church to help people feel more connected virtually.
“People are going to see each other, hear greetings and blessings from each other and I am imagining it is going to be a really wonderful, deep and meaningful moment for so, so many people,” she said.
Light of Christ Ecumenical Catholic Church has created a “drive-in” church during COVID, Harroun said. Members arrive early, park in designated spots and listen to services broadcast on the radio. Christmas Eve services will look the same, however, the church has worked with the city to reserve the parking lot at Garden Acres, 2508 Spencer St., to allow more people to attend Services will begin at 7:45 p.m. Additionally services will be broadcast on Facebook Live.
The church will celebrate Epiphany a week later, beginning Jan. 2, in a different way this year.
Harroun and church secretary Annie Hayes will become all the characters in the story, since it will be streamed on Facebook.
“That will actually become the lesson. Isn’t that what the Nativity story really is? That we are all somehow all of these people in this story and at different times of our life, or different times in our day, we’re maybe more like Mary or more like the angels or more like the shepherds,” Harroun said.
Whether in a parking lot, in person or online, there seem to be a number of ways for people to worship their faith during the holidays.
“We believe church isn’t a building. It isn’t a building that changes lives, it is the gospel that changes lives. For us it (the pandemic) has empowered us to get beyond the walls of the church,” Kinser said.
