Local Catholic churches to resume Mass this weekend.
Local archdiocese will allow Mass to resume this weekend with social distancing, limits
After Gov. Greg Abbott gave the green light to churches and other places of worship to resume services this weekend, many Houston-area religious leaders announced they would not be opening their doors yet because of concerns about the new coronavirus.
The largest faith in the region bucked the trend: The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston announced Wednesday that churches in Southeast Texas will be allowed to resume Masses this weekend under a “phased reopening” that stresses social distancing and limits the number of people allowed to worship at one time.
In a statement, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo said that earlier restrictions on churches were “necessary” for the health of the public and the roughly 1.7 million Catholics living in Southeast Texas.
“At the same time,” DiNardo said, “I have heard the continued pleas of so many of the faithful and priests for access to the spiritual strength and nourishment of the sacraments after enduring so many weeks of stay-at-home orders. Therefore, I believe the time has arrived to look forward to how this local church can cautiously resume some of its essential activities.”
In allowing Masses to resume, DiNardo has diverged from what other dioceses in Texas and nationally have done to combat the spread of COVID-19. Catholic leaders in San Antonio told local media that they’re still considering options to reopen churches, and in Dallas regular Masses are suspended until May 18.
Dr. Peter Hotez, an expert on vaccines who works at Baylor College of Medicine, advised against holding church services or other large gatherings at this time, even if social distancing is possible. “There is a lot of risk,” he said. Thursday marked the highest single-day death toll for Texas, and Hotez noted that health experts are still learning new things about coronaviruses and how they spread. He cited recent research showing the virus could be spread across as much as 13 feet of separation, and noted that Italy — home to the Vatican and one of the initial epicenters of the pan
demic — has not yet lifted restrictions on Masses.
His advice: “When in Houston, do as the Romans do.”
Special considerations urged
Many congregations moved away from in-person gatherings before local officials such as Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo limited or banned gatherings. Abbott subsequently issued an order that superseded local rules and permitted churches and other places of worship to reopen with limitations; he said religious services should either be conducted remotely or in-person using social distancing guidelines.
Abbott on Monday lifted limits on the size of gatherings and urged people to wear masks when appropriate. As for places of worship, he recommends that those most at risk for COVID-19 — such as persons age 65 and older who have underlying health conditions — watch or participate in religious services remotely.
Churches are encouraged to set aside space for at-risk persons or dedicate a service for just them to attend.
Inside, attendees should keep at least two empty seats between them. Two or more members of the same household can sit next to one another, as can two people attending services together.
Every other row of seating should be left empty.
Church staff and volunteers should also be trained on appropriate cleaning, disinfection, hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette, according to the guidelines. An employee or volunteer that has new or worsening signs of COVID-19 should be sent home. Employees and volunteers should also maintain social distancing.
Mayor Sylvester Turner said he is leaving it up to residents to decide whether they want to attend religious services this weekend.
“People have to exercise their judgment,” Turner said Tuesday. “I’m not going to try to dictate every single thing that people do.”
Most churches staying closed
There is far from a consensus among local religious leaders over whether now is the time to welcome back congregants, even with Abbott’s social-distancing guidelines. More than 80 Christian churches across greater Houston have signed a statement saying they would not hold inperson services during May.
“We believe that in-person gatherings for worship that are larger than 50 persons should not take place in April or May. We will not have in-person worship but will continue offering worship online,” the group said in a statement Friday. “In making this decision, we have the unanimous support of the leaders of the Texas Medical Center who strongly recommend these actions for all the faith communities of Greater Houston.”
Since the statement went out, about 25 more churches have added their signatures, according to Scott Jones, the top official of the Texas Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.
“We can see clearly at this time that resumption of larger group gatherings should not happen in the next six weeks,” the statement reads. “Deciding when to resume in-person worship for larger gatherings should be evaluated as new information about the rate of new cases and the availability of testing is available.”
Not all area church leaders agree.
Second Baptist Church, which counts tens of thousands of Houstonians as members, said it will resume services at its campuses — again with social distancing — on May 9. The church said it may add new services to allow congregants to worship while remaining 6 feet apart.
In guidance issued Wednesday, the archdiocese said churches may be reopened at the discretion of their leaders so long as parishioners remain at 25-percent capacity and take precautions such as social distancing and wearing masks.
Each of the archdiocese’s 146 parishes will reopen for confessions, and priests will be allowed to decide whether to provide communion, provided it’s byhand.
At one Catholic church in The Woodlands, parishioners will need to make reservations to attend Mass.
Leaders of Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church said they did so to make it easier to abide by capacity limits and keep parishioners separated when they enter or leave the building.
“We’re kind of treating it like boarding an airplane,” said Stephen Lenahan, the church’s director of communications.
Lakewood continues online
Most other churches, though, seem to be taking a wait-and-see attitude.
“Since we are a stadium-sized church, Lakewood will continue to hold services online only for the time being,” said Andrea Davis, a spokesperson for Joel Osteen’s megachurch. “We don’t have a reopen date, but we are consulting with experts on the safest and best plan forward.”
Lakewood Church can seat up to 16,000 people, and it held an Easter service online that was viewed by nearly 12 million people from over 195 countries.
Jones said churches are going to have to re-think many of their normal traditions amid concerns about the new coronavirus, noting how social distancing is difficult for members accustomed to hugging and shaking hands.
He also said places of worship need to re-evaluate the way offerings are collected and how to properly disinfect interiors between services.
“We want to move slowly enough, that when we do it, we do it safely,” Jones said.
No rush for all others
Representatives of other faiths said they’re continuing to review Abbott’s order.
“We’re really very much in the beginning stages of all this,” said Taryn Baranowski, spokesperson for the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston. “We’re beginning conversations, but no one is really in a rush to open anything.”
Abbott’s Monday order came just days after the start of Ramadan, a 30-day period in which Muslims fast during the day and meet for communal prayers and meals at night.
On Tuesday night, the Islamic Society of Greater Houston voted to keep mosques closed.
“We have no plan to open until we hear from the medical experts and healthcare agencies,” society president Sohail Syed said earlier Tuesday. “The order says you do not have to open and ... once you open it up, everyone wants to go in and it would be very difficult for us to turn people away.”
Ken Werlein, founding pastor at Faithbridge church who signed the statement pledging not to reopen in May, said the continued pause will allow churches to see the effects of social distancing on flattening the curve of new COVID-19 cases and how close the medical community is to developing a vaccine or a drug treatment.
His church, located in Spring, has two sanctuaries that each seat 1,000 people.
“As much as we would like to come back,” Werlein said, “there’s very little to gain with what we know right now, and there’s a lot to potentially to lose.”