Churches emphasize safety over politics
When it comes to reopening, religious leaders call for caution
First it was one honk. Then another. Then a chorus of car horns rose up to greet the Rev. Sam Waterloo.
Waterloo, who has been with the Sauk Trail Baptist Temple since 2011 and became its pastor last March, said his congregation is a vocal one. The past few months of online services have been “strange” without the feedback he typically receives.
But since early May, Waterloo’s Richton Park church has also held aweekly drive-in service so interested members can assemble, albeit from the confines of their space-out vehicles, tuned into an FM band for the sermons and music.
The honking started Week 1 as a show of support. On Memorial Day, it came after the Pledge of Allegiance. It sounded to show guest speaker support, as applause for the pastor’s message and following songs members enjoyed. They helped make Sundays feel a little closer to what they used to be, Waterloo said.
As with most places ofworship, Sauk Trail Baptist had to close its doors to keep the congregation safe amid coronavirus concerns. But people started talking about alternatives almost immediately, and the drive-in idea kept coming up, Waterloo said.
Sauk Trail Baptist decided to give it a go. Between 140-180 members attend them, with the other 100 or so members accounted for on YouTube streams, according to Waterloo.
“That’s been really good to see,” he said.
Helen Metke, of Manteno, has been attending the church for 35 years. She started watching the services on YouTube when the church doors closed but has not missed a Sunday drive-in.
“It’s been a breath of fresh air,” she said.
While it helps scratch the itch of togetherness in worship the congregation craves, Metke said she is eager to get back inside the building.
“I can’t wait to get stuff started again,” she said.
Waterloo said he also is eager to see his congregation back within thewalls of the church.
“That’s what the church is meant to do — to assemble,” he said. “There’s that desire within our church. We’re like a family. To be separated fromthat is hard.”
Slow mobilization
Area church leaders, in general, say they are eager to worship face-to-face with their congregations, but many are taking a cautious approach.
This comes amid the recent push and pull from federal and state officials following President Donald Trump’s vocalized desire for churches to reopen immediately and Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s initial reluctance. The governor announed Thursday plans to remove limits on the number of people who can attend in-person religious services in his updated statewide stay-at-home order
The Archdiocese of Chicago announced a plan earlier this month to reopen churches in phases. The letter by Cardinal
Blase Cupich sought a return to baptisms, reconciliation, weddings and funerals with a limit of 10 attendees by May 21, and then private prayer and adoration with a limit of 10 attendees by May 30, providing parishes follow certain steps, including forming teams to oversee safety precautions.
Reopening for Masses for larger groups remains up in the air and dependent upon a number of factors, including guidelines from the state, according to the Archdiocese.
The Rev. Bill Corcoran said St. Elizabeth Seton in Orland Hills is “kind of all over the place” in terms of reopening. Certification was expected May 26, though, and the church planned to resume confessions May 30, with changes made inside to accommodate social distancing.
When the church eventually reopens for Mass, Corcoran said there will be a regular cleaning regimen to aid with COVID-19 prevention.
“All this disinfecting is, in a way, belt and suspenders,” he said. “You’re just trying to be as foolproof as possible.”
The church will likely follow the public schools model when it comes to reopening of classes. It has a wedding scheduled for June 13 that was limited to 10 attendees. And the next would not be until late August.
The Rev. Ken Fleck, who serves as pastor of St. George Catholic in Tinley Park and as chairman of the Association of Chicago Priests & Deacons, said his parish has gone through similar procedures, meeting with teams that sanitize and designate seating to keep the church safe for visitors.
In addition to “wrapping our heads around all of the details that are required,” Fleck said the meetings serve as a good opportunity for people to vent their frustrations, anxieties and concerns.
“It’s important that we have time to do that,” Fleck said. “Where the church plays a role is to bring a message of hope.”
He said the church is turning to both civic and religious leaders, as well as experts, to find a “healthy and safe way through this.” But his members desire to see each other once again.
“It’s part of our humanity to be together,” he said. “It fulfills who we are.”
Annunciation Byzantine Catholic is taking a quicker path to reopening than its sister churches. While also Catholic, the Byzantine institution reports to the Eparchy of Parma rather than the archdiocese. Because the Eparchy spans 12 states, the Rev. Thomas Loya said the bishop cannot offer a
“one-size-fits-all policy.”
In a May 11 letter to the parishioners of his Homer Glen church, Loya laid out what he called a “unique and very complex” path to reopening.
“I believe that at Annunciation parish we have arrived at a policy of reopening that uses common sense, reason, the proper caution and safeguards while at the same time preserves the integrity and mission of the Church,” Loya wrote.
The church planned to open worship services on Pentecost, May 31, under its usual schedule. The nave has been rearranged to ensure safe distancing, and when weather permits side doors will be left open “for ventilation” and so worshippers can stand outside for Mass if they wish, Loya explained. Parishioners also are allowed to stream the services in a variety of ways if they feel uncomfortable about entering the building.
No gatherings will be allowed in the narthex, and safe distancing is to be practiced on church property, he said. Masks are at the discretion of those attending.
Holy Communion is to be celebrated with practices Loya said he thinks are safe, with the idea being that with chalice-and-spoon distribution the spoon never touches someone’s mouth. Extra spoons and sanitary fluid will be nearby, though, if that does not go according to plan, Loya said.
“I am thrilled to be getting back to worshiping with my parishioners, although I realize it will not be all of my parishioners, at least not yet due to the fact that not everyone will feel confident enough to return to worship services yet,” Loya said.
At St. Andrew’s Anglican Chuch in Tinley Park, the Rev. Philip Tjoelker said his congregation of 80 active members has been joined by those in other states and even other countries on Zoom. The tech, he said, has been a lifeline to Christian fellowship.
“Even after the restrictions are lifted, we will continue using Zoom,” he said.
But he said they planned to allow groups limited to 10 to participate at the church as soon as the Feast of the Pentecost — as Holy Communion is “essential to our faith.” Guidelines about personal contact, handshaking and more are to “be taken seriously,” and Communion is to be limited to wafers and not the traditional common cup, he said. Singing also may be cut to help prevent the spread of the virus.
The church, Tjoelker said, is concerned about the stay-at-home orders and the damage they can cause to finances, education, mental health, businesses, relationships and retirement.
“The medicine may be far more harmful than the disease,” he said. “We must strive to balance care for those affected or could be affected by COVID-19 while maintaining and promoting all the aspects of ordinary life.”
Tjoelker said they will pray for government officials to serve their people well.
“Hate-filled rage and name-calling toward elected officials is not helpful,” he said. “Hating the president or the governor accomplishes nothing.”
Around the area
The Rev. Jamie Deuser, senior pastor with The Church at Southland in Tinley Park, said that while the reaction to online services have been tremendous and giving has stepped up despite the hardships people are facing, they are eager to return to face-to-face services.
Deuser said ministering via technology can be difficult, and it is hard to watch families make tough choices because of limits on funerals. He said that he and most members are not concerned on a personal level about the risks to themselves, “but for our most vulnerable we want to do the right thing.”
The Rev. Jon Fogel noted his congregation of roughly 100 at Hope Covenant Church in Orland Park transitioned to online services a week before it became required. While Fogel’s congregation is “ideologically diverse,” leadership has no plan to base its decisions on political whims.
“We didn’t close under a directive, and we won’t open under a directive,” Fogel said. “We’re keeping an eye on the best science out there.”
When in-person services do resume, Fogel said they are likely to be outdoors first, with a lack of singing and handshaking.
At the Vivekananda Vedanta Society of Chicago in Homer Glen, there is no one at the center, all classes are virtual and leaders even canceled their retreats, said Swami Varadananda, a Hindu monk of the Ramakrishna Order who manages the facility.
“In short, all of our activities have been canceled or curtailed,” he said.
Varadananda said they also are looking to other states to see what happens following their reopenings.
“I think we need to see if there is a jump in their COVID cases before we make a decision,” he said.
The Rev. Lynn Bird, pastor of Tinley Park’s Zion Lutheran Church, acknowledged her church of 400500 is “eager to get together,” but with a large number of eldery members she does not want to exclude, reopening could take time. Zion is first looking to outdoor services as the weather allows, but staff is not returning to the building until June 1. It is unlikely the public will return before July, she said.
“We are taking a very slow and cautious approach,” Bird said. “We are not planning any in-house gatherings as long as we can sustain it outdoors.”
The Rev. John Moeller, of St. Paul Lutheran in Oak Lawn, said his church for now is sticking to pre-recorded online services, which have allowed the church to reach people who have been “out of touch for a while.” But he is hoping they can return to in-person meetings soon with social distancing measures and attendance limitations.
“We do look forward to worshipping in person in church, although we’re taking every precaution to keep our members safe,” Moeller said, citing a large number of senior members.
Moeller said it is simply a numbers game. While the building is big enough for social distancing, there was no way to keep under previous assembly regulations with the numbers St. Paul Lutheran has.
“I get it that there are a lot more people inside a Home Depot or Walmart at any given moment, but they’re moving rather than sitting or standing in one place for an hour and singing while they’re there,” he said.
Parkview Christian’s the Rev. Tim Harlow — who oversees campuses in Orland Park, Homer Glen and New Lenox — posted a May 23 statement to his congregation following the president’s remarks. In it, he said while the church remains committed to its mission, it is prioritizing safety and adaptability during the pandemic.
“At this time, our team believes the best course of action is to continue to meet online as we assess next steps,” Harlow wrote.
The Rev. Caleb Hong, of Faith United Methodist Church in Orland Park, did not pull any punches in saying his “theologically and socially diverse” church plans to continue services online for now, despite the urging of the president, instead following the direction of Gov. Pritzker and Bishop Sally Dyck.
“The vast majority of our congregation support a slow and wise opening versus a quick and unprepared one,” he said, noting a recent survey said only 50 percent of members would attend if the church opened as soon as possible.
He said the ultimate decision to reopen will be made when leadership thinks it is safe to do so and said that some think the president’s call to reopen violates the commandment to love one’s neighbor.
“We’ve heard President Trump, but we’ll follow Jesus Christ,” Hong said.
Bill Jones is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.