Churches adapt to COVID, social changes

Jan. 1—This is the first of a two-part story.

HIGH POINT — While fear of COVID-19 and its variants caused many churches to limit in-person worship and kept some members at home, fewer people may be going to church, but they are taking part in other ways, several local pastors say.

While some regular attendees have returned to Sunday morning worship, there are about 25% fewer people sitting in Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church than before the pandemic's start in March 2020, according to the Rev. Jeff Patterson, senior pastor.

"Some of the people who are not attending are cautious being around crowds, but some have just gotten out of the habit of worship attendance," Patterson said. "Some people's health has declined during the increased inactivity of recent months and they are no longer able to physically attend. For some people, other activities have taken the place of corporate worship during the pandemic."

But Wesley Memorial also live-streams its worship services and airs a televised program on Sunday mornings.

"Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have instituted several protocols regarding how we deal with the virus," Patterson said. "But, it is obvious that people are getting tired of following the guidelines, and everyone has strong opinions about what should and should not be done in regards to dealing with the virus. 'Decision-fatigue' is a real issue today."

Dr. Timothy Peoples of Emerywood Baptist Church estimated that in-person attendance has decreased to about 140 at Sunday morning services from about 230 before COVID, but those who aren't in the church mostly take part in a different way.

"What we're seeing is that people have not stopped coming, they just worship online," Peoples said. "We can track how long people are watching and are engaged with parts of the sermon, the music and different things."

In fact, by some measures, the pandemic has actually increased the audience, Peoples said.

"Another great thing the pandemic has done ... is we have seen a growing membership from members only online in different states. They have been in full participation, not just in worship but through giving, Bible studies and other events," he said.

Emerywood Baptist started teams for spiritual direction and care of people who attend virtually only and may not be able to physically attend.

"We've tried to reach out to some of the people who say, 'You'll probably never see us inside but we're part of the community, we're part of the fellowship and we need you to know that,' " Peoples said. "Every Sunday, we make a statement to welcome those who are virtual and remind them they are part of Bible study and prayer meetings because that is what the church looks like today in different ways. I would say if we're being very realistic, this is what church is going to look like for a while."

Calvary Baptist Church was among the churches that completely shut down in-person worship for much of the last 18 months but gained out-of-state participants at its online services, senior pastor the Rev. Amos Quick said. Calvary Baptist now attracts participants from states as far away as Oregon.

"The attendance at those online services and the number of views has not indicated a major decline in membership or participation," Quick said. "In fact, this gave us the opportunity to reach more people across the nation and the world. We didn't have online capabilities before the pandemic. So the silver lining around the pandemic for us was that it gave us the impetus to gain an online presence we didn't have before. It also extended our outreach to places that we weren't reaching before."

At the same time, Quick noted the church lost its communal sense of gathering. Calvary adopted a modified, limited in-person capacity for its services. Attendees register ahead of time and follow safety protocols once there.

"It has had a huge and tremendous impact on the community of believers at Calvary Baptist Church," Quick said. "On the plus side, it has forced us to expand and do ministry differently. On the negative side, it has absolutely interrupted our sense of community."

Williams Memorial C.M.E. Church had multiple in-person services and online streaming through its church website and Facebook page before the pandemic. The church at 3400 Triangle Lake Road suspended indoor services for 18 months, extended online services to YouTube, and added telephone and parking lot options. In-person attendance decreased due to social distancing guidelines at the sanctuary and parking lot services but its virtual streaming numbers increased, the Rev. Robert J. Williams said.

"We resumed in-person service at the beginning of November 2021, and due to our social distancing protocols, we are not yet able to make a true comparison of physical attendance," Williams said. "However, a large percentage of our congregation has remained engaged with our worship services and outreach ministries via the various available platforms. We have also been able to reach people outside of our local community through our streaming options."

When its in-person services resumed, Williams Memorial added several protocols: The church reduced the number of in-person services, shortened worship service time, limited attendance, reduced the choir size, implemented socially distanced seating, required preregistration for attendees, and performed temperature and health screenings.

"We also still offer the parking lot, telephone and virtual streaming options for worshippers who are not comfortable or not able to attend the indoor worship services," Williams said.

Williams Memorial's congregants can connect virtually throughout the week for Bible studies, Sunday school classes, prayer calls and online meetings and gatherings via Zoom. Williams Memorial modified its Easter and Christmas productions to a virtual format.

"Many who are attending virtually are still not comfortable attending in-person due to underlying health conditions and other reasons while some have become accustomed to connecting virtually," Williams said.

Residents of the South have always said they will not look like the Northeast when it comes to worship, Peoples said, but the Northeast has been doing worship like this for the last 10-20 years.

"For them, the pandemic was just another thing and their attendance has stayed the same," Peoples said. "They still had the same people coming in and the same people being online because they started doing this much earlier than the South. Now we're just seeing a difference in what church is coming about and being."

How much in-person church attendance will ultimately come back is unknown, but a new spike in infections brought on by the omicron variant surely will not help. The decline in in-person worship could intensify the longer-term drift from religious affiliation.

Quick noted similarities in the ongoing pandemic with the Spanish flu pandemic of 1917-19. His research found the same questions were asked: Can the government stop people from going to church and should churches even be open?

"These things are repeating themselves," Quick said. "The church endured through that. The church will endure through this. The church has been a pillar of our society. Interest in religious affairs may come and go, but the church as an institution has proven itself time and time again to be one that is stalwart and steadfast. The church was founded on a rock and the church is not going anywhere, despite people's interest or lack thereof."

cingram@hpenews.com — 336-888-3534 — @HPEcinde