Church services not as attractive on Zoom

Parishioners at a West Kelowna church are not quite as faithful with their virtual worship attendance as they were with in-person services.

About 35 people tune in each Sunday for Zoom services conducted out of St. George's Anglican Church in downtown Westbank.

That compares with about 40-45 people who attended services at the church before the first suspension of religious gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.

"There was one Sunday when we had well over 40 people for our Zoom service because a large group of seniors were gathered around a big screen TV at a retirement home," Rev. Alan Akehurst of St. George's said Tuesday.

With the extension of public health orders against the holding of religious services to try curb the spread of the pandemic, the earliest in-person Sunday worship can resume is Feb. 7.

“My sense of things is that the pause will continue, but who knows,” Akehurst said. “All we know for sure is that we'll be very happy when we can get back to having services here at the church.”

During the pandemic, about 54% of people who identify as Christians in the U.S. have regularly streamed services from their church, according to a poll done by Barna Group, a Californiabased research and resource firm that provides services to churches.

About 34% admit to streaming a different church service online than their own, essentially "church-hopping". And 32% have "dropped out of church for the time being", Barna Group says.

Some churches in B.C., such as Harvest Ministries International on Harvey Avenue in Kelowna, have made a point of flouting the ban on in-person worship services and intend to mount a legal challenge based on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

But St. George's Anglican, like the vast majority of churches, has switched to online services.

And church staff have added something of a humorous and slightly political twist to an electronic sign outside the building that usually shows devotional messages. It currently reads: “Thou Shalt Wear a Mask – Hygenesis 20:20.”

RON SEYMOUR/ Westside Weekly Some churches aren’t very good about following public health orders, but St. George’s Anglican in West Kelowna is encouraging its parishioners to listen to Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry — and even finding Biblical-sounding passages to spread the gospel of mask wearing.