The coronavirus is causing all non-essential businesses to close in New York, including churches, monasteries and synagogues. With religious buildings being closed, worship is moving to online platforms.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused stress and anxiety for many. In these trying times, religion is something people use to get by. However, now with the closing of the religious buildings, those people cannot attend the regularly scheduled worships. In order to still meet the need and help people through their worries, preachers have connected with members on YouTube, Facebook and other platforms.
“People are concerned,” lead pastor of The Vineyard Church, John Elmer, said. “People are in a hard, scary place for them. So, it’s a time where people are saying ‘I really need to make sure I get fed spiritually.’”
The Vineyard Church has multiple locations in Central New York that are all currently closed to the public. It still holds a weekly service on Sunday mornings and members can access the live stream on the church’s website. The change wasn’t too difficult for Elmer’s staff.
“We already record our messages,” Elmer said. “We already had the technology lined up.”
The Vineyard Church is also connecting with its members through other means.
“Our pastoral staff is calling through to a couple thousand households,” Elmer said. “Just touching base with everyone, saying ‘Hey, we’re here and we’re praying for you.’”
Phone calls and emails aren’t the only way religious centers are reaching their constituents. All forms of technology have helped in the transition to online worship.
“I just put a homily on our website,” Rector Neal Quartier of The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception said. “I put a couple messages on our website, so people still feel connected.”
The power of social media has helped to keep people connected with their spirituality. According to Elmer, online viewership has increased each week since the closure of the buildings.
The change has impacted how preachers share their messages, however.
“We’re going with a shorter message,” Elmer said. “For people online, attention spans are a little bit less, so we’ve shortened the messages… The topics I’m dealing with— dealing with anxiety, handling fear, those kinds of topics.”
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception has also dealt with challenges due to the changes.
“We’re all by ourself doing it here,” Quartier said. “It changes it totally because it’s just not very personal but thank God we have technology.”
Online worship is different for most people involved. In-person worship is preferred by many, but members and religious leaders are glad they can have still come together in worship even if it is not in the regular way.
“They’re very saddened by it,” Quartier said. “They wish we could come together, but they understand this is something we have to do. I think they are grateful for this ability that we have to reach out to them.”
Online worship is most likely going to continue and become the norm for a while as the coronavirus continues to spread across the country and New York. As of Thursday, March 26, health officials have confirmed there are at least:
- 37,258 cases of the coronavirus in New York
- 111 cases in Onondaga County
- 21,393 cases in New York City
- 385 deaths in the state
