Though the Ontario government has imposed restrictions on the people of the province due to COVID-19 concerns, with public gatherings limited to no more than five people, people from many congregations in different faiths have turned to connecting with each other and holding worship services through online means.
And, many local worshippers who spoke with SooToday said online church services have strengthened their appreciation for their fellow congregation members and their relationship with God.
“I really enjoy it,” said David West of the Gospel Hall, an evangelical Christian gathering place.
“We can see each other’s faces. We can’t come together because we have to distance ourselves, but it’s the next best thing to actually being in the church building itself.”
“Sometimes we take people for granted when we see them on a regular basis. But because of what is happening now, because we can’t meet with each other, we miss each other and look forward to seeing each other online,” West said.
“Seeing their faces really helps me. Taking part in the services and worshipping the Lord together (through hymns and prayers) keeps me focused on the Lord as well as the individuals we see online. It reminds me to pray for them and keep them in mind.”
West said the current situation has only increased his faith in God, despite the COVID-related fear and uncertainty in the secular world.
“I have confidence He’s in control. I take comfort and solace in that. I talk to people I know, at a distance, who wonder what’s happening in the world and it’s given me an opportunity to speak to them about my faith. God wants the world to stop and pause and consider the things that are important in life, that there is a God who loves us and wants us to know Him,” West said.
“Feedback (regarding online services) has been very good,” said Pastor Bill McLean of City Bible Church.
McLean said some of “the grey-haired saints” within the City Bible Church congregation are not familiar with computers and online technology and are, as a result, not connected.
“But what we do is we encourage everybody in City Bible Church to reach out to three people a day, to just touch base with them, to encourage them, to see if there’s anything we can do for them, how can we pray for them, how can we be there for them. I call it the ‘three a day challenge.’”
“When 9/11 happened, the churches were filled. Then things got back to normal and people just kind of slacked off (in terms of church attendance). Then there was the financial crunch in 2008, and again churches filled up, and again things got back to normal, the economy picked up and the churches started to dwindle again. I don’t believe for a second that God has caused this, but I believe He’s allowed it so that we can indeed reflect on who we are before Him,” McLean said.
“The Bible says ‘not to forsake the assembling of yourselves together (Hebrews 10:25, King James Version).’ That’s a great scripture... and in the day and age we live, we cannot come together physically but we can assemble and worship in spirit and in truth.”
“I’m encouraged by the number of people involved (in online services at City Bible Church),” McLean said, adding it has led to plans for his church to continue having online services when or if COVID-19 passes.
City Bible Church currently has services on its own YouTube channel, including Sunday morning sermons from McLean and Wednesday prayer meetings.
St. Jerome Catholic Church is not holding online services, but Reverend Pat Woods of St. Jerome said “we’re posting stuff on Facebook every day and on our website on a regular basis. A priest who served here at St. Jerome’s as a new priest, a familiar face, has been streaming out of North Bay so we’ve been posting stuff from him on our website as well.”
St. Jerome has 1,400 families in its congregation.
“This is hard on everyone,” Woods said, adding he, like so many others, is bothered by the fact people have been separated from dying loved ones during the COVID-19 clampdown.
Still, Woods said he is encouraged by the availability of Facebook, his church’s website and televised services, both for himself and his parishioners.
“Here’s the reality. God’s bigger than all of it.”
“People can (still) have a relationship with God...this is something we’ve recognized and seen through the weeks of COVID isolation. The relationship they have with God sustains them through everything. Just because churches are closed doesn’t mean faith stops,” Woods said.
“I think this is an opportunity for people’s faith to grow and develop, to explore their own relationship with God.”
Meanwhile, at least two other Sault Catholic parishes, St. Veronica and St. Gerard Majella, are offering online services.
“It was kind of shocking (when churches were closed down),” said Reverend Alex Saurianthadathil of St. Gerard Majella.
“I started calling people because I wanted to keep in touch with them. I took the time to revamp our website, adding some new things, and started planning online (services).”
Not one for pre-recorded sermons, Saurianthadathil said he learned how to deliver live, online sermons through the St. Gerard Majella website and Facebook page, its services held not only Sunday but also Tuesday through Saturday.
“I have some international viewers also, from India, Italy, Argentina, even Australia,” Saurianthadathil chuckled, his parish including approximately 750 families.
On weekends, almost 400 families view St. Gerard Majella services, Saurianthadathil estimated, with 100 to 150 people enjoying weekday services.
“I’m very happy and thank God for the technology. I’m so grateful for this...the parishioners are grateful. I am humbled by their response.”
“It’s been an opportunity (for church members) to look into areas of life they perhaps did not look into as much before, not to take things for granted, their families, to be there for one another. I’m happy to see older people be helped by their families (in accessing online services), and to find resources on TV.”
“There are uncertainties, but the only thing we can do is turn to the Lord, turn to God, and the moment we are able to trust in that God, we are free of that fear and anxiety (caused by COVID-19),” Saurianthadathil said.
The Sault’s Jewish community is adapting as well, said Jeff Arbus, Congregation Beth Jacob representative.
“We have done one (online service) and we are in the middle of planning a second one. The platform we chose was Zoom, and it worked really well. We provided very detailed instructions to those of our congregants who were not familiar with how to use Zoom.”
“The interesting thing was that some of our seasonal people who come and participate in the summer, who have camps on St. Joseph Island or Pointe Des Chenes or wherever they may be but don’t live here, they tuned in. So, we had people from Toronto and southern Michigan who are on our general mailing list who tuned in,” Arbus said.
“Being able to see faces was what really made the difference. One of the fun things about a platform like Zoom, and probably some of the others, is when you want to do something that involves more than one person speaking, like a song, then you get time delays. You see people’s mouths moving but you don’t hear them, then five seconds later you hear them, and if people are in the right headspace they can have a lot of fun with it.”
“Certainly people enjoyed it enough to ask us to do it again.”
COVID-19 and the need for online worship services has not only helped people gain a better appreciation for each other, but also, Arbus said, provided a chance to get creative.
“On the Sabbath, in the Jewish faith, technology is supposed to be avoided on the Sabbath. You’re supposed to turn your attention to the holiness of the day. So for us, we had to determine we will use technology, and the leaders of the major synagogues, around North America at least, have one by one been saying the greater importance is the (spiritual) welfare of the community and we can set aside the rule about technology. That’s been an interesting discussion to watch unfold, but we came quickly to the decision that we were just going to do that (locally).”
“It must be done for the betterment of the community,” Arbus said.
In her role as the Metropolitan for the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario within the Anglican Church of Canada, the Most Reverend Anne Germond addressed Anglicans of the province in a May 15 pastoral letter regarding the reopening of Anglican churches.
The letter indicates Anglican compliance with provincial restrictions on public gatherings.
Germond stated “we share the desire of many other churches in the province to physically gather in-person to worship our Heavenly Father…(but) the well-being and safety of all our parishioners and the communities we serve is uppermost in our hearts and minds as we carefully plan for the eventual reopening of Ontario’s many Anglican churches.”
“We will be taking a cautious and measured approach in the days ahead, in consultation with medical experts and the leaders of our dioceses…we remain committed to working with parish leaders to equip them to honour the various protocols that will enable us to worship safely in due course, and to keeping you informed about all decisions that are made,” Germond wrote.
“In the midst of this time of uncertainty, we ask you for your patience and your prayers as we continue to be apart – but together in the One who stood among his fearful disciples and offered them His peace (John 14:27, King James Version). May that peace, which passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7, King James Version) hold you gently during this time of pandemic. Peace be with you.”
