Houston religious leaders wait to reopen, citing caution as an act of love
Being away from the sanctuary was not exactly new for members at Houston’s St.
Mark’s United Methodist Church. Last September, the church was devastated by a fire, and repairs were made in time for Christmas. Members were just getting back in the swing of their routine when the pandemic changed everything.
“In the past eight or nine months, we’ve worshiped in an elementary school cafeteria, a middle school gym and now online,” senior pastor Emily Chapman said.
Though Chapman is more than ready to return to the sanctuary and regular Sunday services, she has not set a date to reopen. Instead, Chapman is keeping a close watch on the Texas Medical Center, waiting for a major downturn in the number of COVID-19 cases.
“We’re looking for benchmarks,” she said.
Safety is the top priority, Chapman explained, and she is not the only faith leader who feels that way. A recent survey of 118 local faith leaders, conducted by the Greater Houston Partnership and Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston, showed that most congregations are exercising caution — and not rushing to reopen.
Bob Harvey, CEO and president of the Greater Houston Partnership, explained that after the rodeo closed, health experts and religious leaders convened to discuss how to work together in the face of mounting concerns. Faith leaders were asked to close their doors and cancel services.
“The faith community responded so immediately and so aggressively,” Harvey said. “We had a group call on Thursday, and by Friday, the mosques closed, followed by the synagogues on Saturday and the churches on Sunday. Some were literally making that decision hours before their services. It was remarkable.”
The Greater Houston Partnership and Interfaith Ministries continues to invite the clergy to Zoom meetings with experts from the Texas Medical Center and civic leaders to ascertain the latest information about the coronavirus. Often, 125 to 150 joined the sessions.
“Here we are three months later, and the conversation is changing,” Harvey said. “That’s why we wanted to do a survey.”
He said that as the city started to reopen, the Greater Houston Partnership and Interfaith wanted to gauge the faith community’s interest and concerns about returning to in-person worship.
The survey’s first question asked whether congregations reopened on Memorial Day; 83 percent replied that they had not. Instead, most reported conducting virtual services.
Those who did conduct physical services limited seating to 10 percent to 50 percent of capacity.
More than half of the congregations surveyed had no plans to resume in-person worship services in June or July. When they do open their doors, a majority of respondents plan to maintain social distancing by reducing capacity. About twothirds will discourage high-risk members from attending, and 98 percent will encourage or require all members to wear masks in the building.
Harvey explained that almost 40 percent of congregations have already developed protocols for reopening, and another 46 percent are still working on guidelines.
The Greater Houston Partnership plans to provide congregations with the tools they need — and to encourage thoughtful and detailed protocols for reopening. In addition, Harvey said, faith leaders will play an important part in spreading the word that social distancing, wearing masks and hand-washing are still a top priority.
“Their members listen to them,” he said. “This is a moment to use the pulpit as a platform. It’s important that Houston stay strong at this moment.”
Martin B. Cominsky, president and CEO of Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston, said faith leaders have been instrumental in helping to contain the spread of the virus. He is impressed by the innovative ways that congregations have stayed in touch and continued to worship together virtually — and expects that creativity to continue.
“We will find a new normal that combines the best of both worlds,” he said. “We have faith in our community. We have faith that people will do the right thing and help each other stay safe.”
Mosques across the city have been following strict rules to ensure safety of members, Islamic Society of Greater Houston president Sohail Syed explained.
“We opened our mosques at 10 percent capacity,” Syed said. Individuals 65 and older, children and those who are sick or have health conditions were asked to stay home. Space for prayer was separated by 6 feet, and members brought their own prayer mats.
Imams added services on Fridays to accommodate their congregations, and the Islamic Society of Greater Houston formed a task force to guide reopening and offer weekly updates to leaders.
“The demand to open up more, we’re not even entertaining,” Syed said. “We really need to follow the guidelines from our task force and the (Centers for Disease Control). I would rather be on the more conservative side of reopening. Human lives are more important than praying in the mosque.”
The Rev. Barkley Thompson, the dean of Christ Church Cathedral, developed a similar weekly task force.
“We don’t want to rush into reopening,” Thompson said. “We want to make sure we’re ready.”
In addition to online services, the church has held phone trees and emailed daily meditations.
“People are in real need of words of both comfort and hope right now,” Thompson said. “In times of crisis, we are reminded that both comfort and hope find their grounding in faith.”
Rabbi Steve Gross with the Houston Congregation for Reform Judaism, said his synagogue also offered a variety of ways for members to stay connected.
He hopes to begin gathering again by the High Holy Days — and to have a few smaller inperson services earlier. Still, there are no reopening dates on the schedule yet.
“There are people who would really love to come and worship,” Gross said. “The virtual experience is nice, but they’re longing for the live experience.”
Still, health and safety are the chief concern; Gross pointed to the Jewish principle “Pikuach Nefesh,” which states that saving a human life is of utmost importance.
“The preservation of life is a paramount value,” Gross said. “You do all you can to protect a life.”
The Hindus of Greater Houston are also taking every precaution to preserve safety, chair Devinder Mahajan said.
Even at a recent wedding in Meenakshi Temple in Pearland, all CDC protocols were followed. “Except for the couple, everybody wore masks and followed the safe-distance guidelines,” Mahajan said.
The temple he co-founded with his father, Arya Samaj Greater Houston, has not reopened and moved everything online instead.
“To stay safe, we are following the CDC guidelines,” he said. “Assembly will only be open once we have a vaccine or other means to make it safe.”
From the beginning, Chapman at St. Mark’s worried the pandemic would last longer than some predicted.
“But I didn’t have a sense that it would be going as long as this — and it’s not over yet,” she said. “It’s not even close.”
When services resume, she plans to follow a hybrid model to allow vulnerable populations to stay home.
“It’s going to be a while before everyone can get back together again,” she said. “If we’re going to be faithful and responsible, we have to consider what risks we are putting people in.”
Even when the environment is considered safe again, the pastor plans to gradually reopen with small group gatherings or outdoor activities.
“It’s hard not knowing,” Chapman said. “There’s no end date. There’s no fixed point when this is over. We need to be really agile and roll with what comes.”
And her congregation has been learning how to adapt to uncertain times.
“In our faith, we believe that we must care for the most vulnerable among us,” Chapman said. “This is an act of love. We are sacrificing so we can keep people as safe as possible. We can reduce risks and show solidarity. We’re not racing back to something that’s not safe because we care deeply about our neighbors.”