Worship goes online - and to the drive-thru - as churches adjust to coronavirus shutdowns

LCBC

A photo of worshippers attending Sunday service in the 2,200-plus-seat auditorium at LCBC Church in Manheim, taken prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus. LCBC Church has taken their worship services online, providing 13 live streaming broadcasts throughout the week.

Like many places across the nation and the world, Pennsylvania has enacted strict restrictions to public gatherings and access to non-vital businesses in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Many of the state’s churches have followed suit.

And as those shutdowns continue to affect the various aspects of our lives, many places of worship are doing what most of us have done - looked to the Internet to stay in touch with one another.

“The whole world is probably working on stuff,” said Bryan Leach, an executive pastor of Life Center Ministries in Harrisburg. Fortunately for their congregation, Leach said, Life Center has had an online presence with worship services and devotionals “for a number of years now.”

“We have a huge online viewing audience that watches regularly,” he said. “It’s a great way to communicate and connect to people.”

Life Center traditionally has three services a week; two on Sunday mornings and one on Wednesday evenings. Now, Leach said, the pastors have been ramping up their posts and videos on services like their YouTube account, their Facebook page and their own streaming page on LCMI.tv, allowing for both live and pre-recorded sermons.

Similarly, the Lives Changed By Christ churches located throughout central Pennsylvania region have already been streaming services “for about 18 months or so,” according to LCBC director of communications James Byers.

“For us, this was a process that was already in place,” Byers said. “It was just a matter of directing folks who had previously been attending at physical locations to transition over to online.”

The video services stemmed from “a desire to reach people where they’re at,” he said, and the response from the congregation has been positive thus far.

“People are just encouraged, thankful, grateful that as a church family, we can continue to meet despite the circumstances that we’re in right now,” Byers said. “We’ve been trying to figure out how to stay connected to our congregation. We’ve been trying to call and email and connect through Facebook, and see how we can care for people through this and how we can pray for them. How can we show up and care well for people in our community?”

The LCBC services are streamed online at 13 different times during the week, spread over Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. A list of times and information on how to view them can be found on the official LCBC website.

But even churches that are not known for their digital presence are branching out online.

Bishop Ronald Gainer suspended all masses in the Diocese of Harrisburg last week, just as many other churches and religious groups have done. But this hasn’t prevented Catholic parishes from getting creative, according to Rachel Bryson, executive director of public relations with the Harrisburg diocese.

“We have encouraged our parishes to livestream their masses, if possible, so they can continue to feed the spiritual needs of the faithful during this time,” Bryson said.

“Many of the Parishes within the Diocese of Harrisburg are live streaming weekend and daily Masses through both Facebook and YouTube," the diocese said in a statement. “Several parishes have also developed innovative ways of connecting with parishioners without access to social media or the Internet, such as offering a conference call option to participate in the Mass.”

That isn’t the only way that some parishes are getting creative to tend to their flock, either. At least one Catholic church in our area will still be conducting the sacrament of confession, albeit with an automotive twist.

Drive-Thru Confessions will be held at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Mechanicsburg from 1-2:30 p.m. on March 21, as seen in the Facebook post below:

And that’s only the beginning of the more analog solutions, when it comes to reaching people’s souls in a time of social distancing. Newville Assembly of God and Christian Life Community Church are among the churches banding together for a Church at the Drive-Ins event, scheduled for March 22 at 10:30 a.m. at the Cumberland Drive-In in Newville.

“During this time of mandated shutdowns, suspensions and uncertainties revolving around the COVID-19 pandemic, we as the Church still have a big job to do,” the Facebook event reads. “By hosting Church at the Drive-Ins, we can be in compliance with safety/health regulations while still coming together to hear the word of God preached.”

But churches and other religious organizations are still trying to meet people’s physical needs as well as spiritual ones, though the social isolation plans make efforts more difficult - and with the threat of the spreading virus, more dangerous.

“We’re still trying to find ways to support local nonprofits at each one of our communities that are doing work to help the marginalized,” Byers said. “Now more than ever, the church and followers of Jesus have an opportunity to really live and demonstrate their faith. We really encourage people to be the church, to see a need and meet it.”

How has your place of worship adapted to social distancing and the coronavirus shutdown? What is your church, synagogue or mosque doing? Let us know by contacting us on social media or by emailing us at features@pennlive.com.

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