Community Worship in the Time of COVID-19

Community Renewal Society’s member congregations are being creative in managing their worship services and connecting with their members during the COVID-19 pandemic.  One of the opportunities that has come out of this crisis is the engagement of youth and young adults, who may not have had a role in the past, in meaningful service to the church. Another outcome is the expanded reach of these services to homebound members or those who have moved away from the congregation.  

At Ravenswood United Church of Christ, Rev. Jason Coulter enlisted his teenage daughter, Lucy, to help him hit the high notes while singing the liturgy and hymns for their weekly services, broadcast via Facebook Live on Sundays at 10:30 a.m.  To make up for missed fellowship opportunities, Ravenswood UCC also hosts a virtual coffee hour on Zoom following each service.

Rev. Richard Mosley, Jr., Interim Pastor of Clair Christian United Methodist Church in the Lawndale neighborhood, leads a congregation of mostly elderly members, many of whom are not connected to the internet.  While connection with this group is the biggest challenge, Rev. Mosley has reached out to a young adult member of his congregation asking for assistance with livestream services.  Rev. Mosley has also set up electronic giving. While these tools are new to church members, Rev. Mosley has found that relatives and friends of the congregation, who may no longer live in the neighborhood, are tuning in.

Churches who may have resisted past efforts to provide information online or engage in social media are now finding that those outlets are vital. The most popular tools used for virtual services include Zoom, Facebook Live and YouTube. Some churches have the ability to livestream through their own websites. Others, without this feature, are able to post links on their website to recordings of past services on YouTube. Many churches are also using these tools to run Bible studies that are not only open to congregation members but also to the larger community.

For some smaller churches, this shift has impacted its outreach. Now, they are able to reach a wider audience. One congregation in particular, Greater Mt. Vernon Missionary Baptist Church, saw the impact in their reach in terms of both viewership and demographics after taking the leap into social media. Rev. Charles Rogers intends to continue streaming services through Facebook Live once they are able to open their doors again to “regular” church services. 

This time has also been crucial for congregations looking to continue their services to the community while socially distancing. Pre-COVID-19, some churches served as food pantries, offered weekly soup kitchen or supported overnight shelter programs. Since the start of the stay-at-home order, churches serving as overnight shelter locations for South Suburban PADS or Housing Forward in the near-west suburbs are no longer able to host guests. However, some continue to support these programs by providing food and monetary donations. Food pantries, often hosted in church basements, are moving outdoors, distributing pre-packaged food items and partnering with other direct service organizations. Living Word Christian Center in Forest Park recently teamed up with a local grocery store to distribute boxes of produce to community members in their parking lot.

Some churches are going a step further by bringing their community service close to home. Countryside Unitarian Universalist Church in Arlington Heights has a house on their property, called Chalice House, that is being updated with plans to lodge a refugee family. This enables church volunteers and others in the community to easily support the family without the need to travel.

Being flexible, creative and engaging volunteers has been necessary as churches ride out this pandemic with the goal of staying in contact with their communities while keeping them safe.  

You can learn about more ways to help both your churches and your communities by visiting our COVID-19 resource page. To support the social justice work being done through CRS by our member congregations, donate online today. Your contribution is greatly appreciated as we all work together to get through this crisis that disproportionally impacts communities of color.

In Solidarity, 

Catherine Hegarty 
Manager of Development and Communications with contributions from our Organizing and Policy Team staff members.