The pandemic and the pews

Faith leaders are no longer just saving souls, but they are making tough decisions about the best ways to protect families from COVID

February 13, 2022

Shelby Coates,

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Walk into any Middle Georgia house of worship on a Sunday morning, and you will likely hear someone say “the doors of the church are always open.”

That is until COVID-19.

As coronavirus made its way to Georgia, faith leaders were no longer just saving souls, but they had to make the tough decisions of the best way to protect families.

“There was no playbook for this,” said United Community Church Pastor Cory Maurer.

In March 0f 2020, churches watched as Governor Brian Kemp signed ‘shelter in place’ orders and placed limits on gatherings. Places of faith were not required to close, but the orders forced many to find new ways to worship.

“We just knew to be responsible,” said Community Church of God Senior Pastor Jason McClendon. “It was good for us to close and have our services online.”

Temple Beth Israel in downtown Macon moved services online too. Today, Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar says her congregation now has a COVID committee. It makes decisions about events, mask and vaccination requirements and the best way to minister to people using technology.

“Even as a result of COVID, I find myself going into people’s homes a lot less,” said Temple Beth Israel Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar.

Faith leaders say that lack of true connection is the biggest burden they face during COVID. It is the main reason Pastor Cory Maurer decided to keep his doors open. Both in-person and online services have always run at the same time.

“We never really closed the doors of the church,” said Maurer. “We abided by what the governor said, but if there were one or two people who showed up, then they did come into the sanctuary.”

After about four months, McClendon says when Community Church of God decided to re-open, they wanted to reach out. It’s Community Empowerment Center offered COVID-19 testing, vaccinations and even food and clothing giveaways.

“A lot of people were hurting,” said McClendon. “A lot of people were scared. It was just a great opportunity to introduce people to Jesus.”

As people return back to the pews:

Michael Hokanson with the North Central Health District says large gatherings, like worship service, can lead to greater COVID exposure. Hokanson says the state of Georgia sees little impact by opening and closing gathering spots. Instead, he says the greatest line of defense is assessing the personal risk for yourself.

“Each individual should look at their own personal risk situation and say, ‘what can I do to protect myself and others,'” said Hokanson.

Hokanson says houses of faith can help in the fight against COVID-19 by doing the following: