SHALL WE GATHER?
Houses of worship decide on reopening date for in-person gatherings
The Rev. Dan Maxwell is inviting his church members to return for in-person worship on Sunday.
It will be the first time since early March that the Chisholm Creek Baptist Church congregation will come together in their building at 17600 N Western.
"We have masks and gloves and huge jugs of sanitizer. We'll do everything possible to keep people safe," Maxwell said Wednesday.
The Southern Baptist preacher said his church will continue to host drive-in church in their parking lot but another service will also be held in the church building. He said they will simply adhere to the social distancing precautions they had been taking before the governor and city of Oklahoma
City's more restrictive safer at home and shelter-in-place directives were issued in late March. For example, individuals will be seated six feet apart, which Maxwell said will be easy because the church has chairs, instead of pews.
While Chisholm Creek won't be t he only church planning to worship in person on Sunday, many metro area houses of worship wrestled with the question of reopening at the first opportunity and decided against it.
"We wanted to be as diligent as we could about following what is best advised. We thought it would be best to err on the side of being extra safe," the Rev. Roger Bruns, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, said on Wednesday. The church's council voted unanimously to reopen no earlier than June 7.
In recent days, leaders of Christian denominations announced their plans or said they would share more details on the matter soon.
• The Rt. Rev. Edward Konieczky, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma, said churches in the diocese would not open before May 15 due to ongoing concerns about the spread of COVID-19.
•In a conferencewide memo, Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church leaders said Oklahoma United Methodist churches are expected to remain closed and staff work from home as much as possible. The conference said it would update its recommendations after May 17.
• Leaders of the Roman Catholic Arch diocese of Oklahoma City and Diocese of Tulsa said they have established a joint task force to explore the timeline and procedures for the resumption of public Mass. They said they would announce a timeline on May 6 which will include details on how parishes will begin offering public Mass. "Given the nature of Catholic Mass and the personal and physical contact involved in the sacraments, it will not be possible for us to return to ` normal' as quickly. We are planning for a gradual opening of our churches, taking necessary precautions to limit spread of the virus and maintaining physical distances appropriate to the changing conditions," the Most Rev. Paul S. Coakley, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, said in a statement.
Other churches also shared their plans with church members.
•Southern Baptist churches, rep resen ting the state' s predominant faith group, are making decisions individually because they operate autonomously. While Maxwell's church plans to offer an in-person service on Sunday, several metro area Southern Baptist churches, like
Quail Springs Baptist and Henderson Hills Baptist in Edmond, said they will not. Quail Springs Baptist's leaders said the church is considering gathering for in- person worship in mid-to late May, while Henderson Hills' elders said the church would probably have its first public worship gathering sometime between late May and mid-June.
The Rev. BillHul se, senior pastor of Putnam City Baptist Church, said his congregation planned to have an outdoor service they called" Lawn Chair Church" on May 10, Mother's Day. He said they wanted to gather in person but thought an outdoor gathering with people social distancing in their lawn chairs might be a practical way to do so while church leaders prepare the church building for in-person services. "While we technically could meet on May 3, it would take several weeks for us to be ready," he said.
• Leaders with Edmondbased Life. Church said Oklahoma Life. Church houses of worship would not meet for in-person worship on Sunday. A church spokeswoman said leaders were making plans to reopen once they have things in place to align with guidance from local officials.
• Crossings Community Church is also trying to determine its re opening date but leaders said the church will not host in-person worship on Sunday.
• In northeast Oklahoma City, many churches, particularly Baptist houses of worship, have said they will not reopen on Sunday, opting for a tentative reopening date of the third Sunday in May. "Most of us have already said we are not opening right away. No need to rush back into it. We want to put the safety of our parishioners first ," the Rev. Derrick Scobey, pastor of Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church, said Wednesday.
Cautious approach
Leaders of other faith traditions also weighed in on the matter.
Imad Enchassi, senior imam of the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, said the Islamic Society's board decided that it isn't safe to open the society's mosque on May 1. He said the decision to remain closed for prayer gatherings was made even t hough Muslims are currently observing the holy month of Rama dan. Enc has si said the board planned to reassess the situation by mid-May.
Rabbi soft he metro area' s two traditional Jewish congregations shared similar statements. Rabbi Vered Harris, spiritual leader of Temple B'nai Israel, said the temple would not reopen for inperson worship gatherings before mid- to late May. E manuel Synagogue' s spiritual leader Rabbi Abby Jacobson said the synagogue would continue to offer online worship services while the house of worship's board discusses the conditions necessary to host in-person gatherings again.