Churches go virtual as in-person services are canceled

ELYRIA — On Sunday, the Rev. Patrick Nicolino put on his robes and walked to his podium to give his sermon, just like he does every week. But this time was different — the pews were empty. Nicolino, senior minister at First Congregational United Church Of Christ in Elyria, is used to not being able to see his audience — he's blind. But going completely online is new to Nicolino. "It doesn't matter to me if it's one person or 300; I'm still able to do the same thing," Nicolino said. "Even though there's no one who is going to respond even if I have a good line that's really funny, I just do what I usually do." As COVID-19 has hit Ohio, ministers, pastors and clergy have had to change up their services to keep congregation members safe. Although Ohio's order to stay at home that was handed down Sunday excluded churches, many of them had gone online even before Sunday. "We're basically doing church virtually," Nicolino said. "This is nothing I ever had any training or education for. We're trying to figure it out hour-by-hour, talking with colleagues and just seeing how we're able to navigate through it." At Washington Avenue Christian Church, services also went online. First, Pastor Nathan Russell said he experimented with it for the first Sunday to see if people would be interested. After that Sunday, Russell said it became clear that this was something that needed to continue for the safety of the church's members. All in-person activities have been suspended until April 5. Although being in front of the camera isn't new for Russell — the church usually films sermons — doing it in front of no audience is new for him. "The first time I did it, I thought, where do I look? Do I look at empty pews? Right at the camera? I'm still learning on that," Russell said. "I don't have anyone to laugh at me anymore. Every now and again I throw a little shade in the sermon and that gets a snicker or a laugh. I can tell from the cues that they're picking up the track so to speak. Now, you're preaching into the void." Even some funerals have changed due to the virus. Russell performed his first funeral where it was only him and the funeral director at the gravesite. The family hadn't been able to make the drive from about three hours away due to Coronavirus concerns. Russell said presiding over a funeral where he could not look the family in the eye, could not hug them, was a new horizon for him. "That was a tragic but beautiful thing," Russell said. "I think what I learned in that moment is that God was with us at the graveside, God was with the family, and God was with the person who died. And because God is with us and we are with God, the separation we feel is only an illusion. That was a really powerful moment." Weekly gatherings where members see and interact with each other is a frequent part of church life. Now that everything has moved online, churches are left to find ways to adapt. "It is virtual so there's a temptation to double down on all the technology, and that's great, it increases access, but there's also picking up the phone and calling, praying over the phone, writing a note and putting it in the mail," Russell said. "There are other elements that are coming back, which is really great." Three Elyria Catholic churches decided to combine to form an online presence for all three congregations. Kristen Craig, director of religious education/communication at St. Jude, said the combination was designed to be a "one-stop shop." As of Tuesday evening, 847 people had followed the Elyria Catholic Cluster Facebook page. "Let's come together and show everyone coming together and standing strong," Craig said. "... There's a need there. There are these resources available everywhere. The dioceses are livestreaming everywhere, but we wanted our parishioners to have some familiar faces. Yeah, the doors are closed right now, but we're still here. We're all going to come back together in the real world." For Sister Cathy McConnell at Sacred Heart in Lorain, the hardest part about being shut down is not having liturgies and Holy Week for Lent. Sacred Heart has put together liturgies that congregation members can view online. "I'm 74 years old and my entire life, I've never experienced a situation like this where we could not celebrate our liturgy," McConnell said. "To not be able to celebrate holy week, it's just not what we do. That was the hardest thing. And once we wrap our heads around it, how do we help our community wrap their heads around it." Sacred Heart canceled liturgies before the Sunday order because the most vulnerable population were the ones who showed up the most. Services have been livestreamed onto Facebook and onto Sacred Heart's website. They are available in both Spanish and English. Music has been included in the virtual church services, something the Rev. Cheryl Lindsay at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Oberlin said is really important to her. "Psychologically, it's good for our attitude, mental health and well-being," Lindsay said. "We want to make it so that they can sing together. The most participatory part of service is music so we are trying to provide that." The Rev. Carl Small at Second Baptist Church in Elyria said the congregation met last Sunday before the order was put out to stay at home, but they put safety precautions in place. The only door people had to physically open was the outside door, and hand sanitizer was just inside with a sign that asked people to use it. The sanctuary doors were propped open. Programs and the giving envelopes were placed on the pew. Only four people were allowed on a pew to keep social distance. Service also was available on Facebook Live for those who didn't attend. Small said a call went out to members that stay home if they were in a vulnerable age group, were sick or had a compromised immune system. Since the order went out, Small said the church decided to go virtual. "We'll share with people, because we are not a part of help extended from the government, we'll encourage people to give tithes online or a deacon will pick it up or put it in the church mailbox, which is monitored by a camera," Small said. "So, that's our plan." Connell, Nicolino, Small, Lindsay and Craig said they are communicating with staff members at the churches who can reach out in the community and stay in touch with members through virtual means, and see if they can offer help in any way. "I think everyone wants to see their own parish clergy," Connell said. "But if it's not your church and your pastor, if it's not what you're used to seeing, it's just not the same. We think it's very important that each parish individualizes itself because it's normal in the midst of chaos." The churches all do different outreach and services across the county, including food pantries and other programs. Nicolino, whose church hosts AA programs, said that was the hardest decision they had to make to temporarily suspend those. "I know how important it is for some people," Nicolino said. "It's hard to do outreach in the community when you're shut down and you're working from home," Connell said. "Many volunteers are retired. Once it got really serious, it occurred to us that we can't send those people out because they're at risk. It will be very challenging and it is something we haven't really brainstormed on." No one is sure how long the stay-at-home order will be in place, and how long they'll have to keep streaming services. It could last past Easter Sunday, which is in three weeks. And with the shutdown in place, some churches, like Nicolino's, won't be filming inside the church come Sunday morning. "It will be the first time doing worship from the comfort of my couch," Nicolino said. "I've got to find some humor in this. … At this point, we've suspended worship through the end of April. All of those big celebrations, we're hoping we're able to stream from the sanctuary. It could just be me on the couch with an Easter lily next to me." As economic realities set in, Russell said people are and will be afraid. But he said that's when the church is most needed: to give the message of do not fear. "The message of the church is always one of resurrection," Russell said. "Resurrection is the ace of spades every time. God is not done with the church; God is still present; God is still with us. Do not be afraid; do not worry." Contact Laina Yost at (440) 329-7121 or lyost@chroniclet.com.