Places Of Worship Proceed With Caution With Green Light To Reopen

WORCESTER, MA — Places of worship were given the green light on Monday to reopen, under a new safety plan created by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. But houses of worship aren't rushing to open their doors as risks of contracting the coronavirus stay on leaders' minds.

Many houses of worship have taken their services virtual, offering congregations over Zoom and Facebook Live. Virtual services have been happening since March when Gov. Charlie Baker banned gatherings of 10 people or more.

Baker's Phase 1 of reopening the state allows houses of worship to hold in-person services again, under specific regulations. Synagogues within the Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts are consulting with health experts and community leaders on the safest way to reopen.

The Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts represents synagogues in Worcester, Westborough, Northborough and Shrewsbury, among other towns.

“Reopening has been on everyone's minds for weeks,” said Steven Schimmel, Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts, “In Judaism, the idea of preserving life is a fundamental part of our religion, so we wouldn't want to do anything that would put anyone at risk.”

Schimmel said that each individual synagogue will decide when to reopen, based on community feedback and the size of the congregations — it is still too early to put a hard date on synagogues reopening across the region.

Until then, virtual services will remain in place, and synagogues in central Massachusetts aren't the only ones slowing the roll on reopening. Churches across the region are following suit and keeping doors closed until they have a plan to ensure a safe reopening.

Faith Community Church has two campuses, one in Framingham and one in Hopkinton. Between the two campuses there're upwards of 900 parishioners. With a congregation that large, reopening under the new restrictions would be near-impossible, said Mike Laurence, Lead Pastor.

The regulations include only accepting 40 percent of the total capacity of a given building along with maintaining six-feet of distance inside the house of worship. Both regulations prove difficult to enforce in a congregation so large. Laurence said the church would rather wait for broader regulations and more guidance from the governor before allowing people through the doors.

“There's a mixture of people who are eager to be back together and worship and other people who are struggling and are hesitant to be back in a crowd,” Laurence said.

The church will continue to focus its efforts on online worship sessions and smaller Zoom groups in the immediate future.

Other parishes nearby, like St. James Armenian Church in Watertown, are still putting together a plan for reopening. On Monday, the church told parishioners in a letter that the building and church offices will remain closed while church officials review the Governor’s announcement.

“We are working diligently to develop a plan and timeline to begin slowly reopening, in a manner that is responsible and safe for our faithful and in line with public health measures and Diocesan recommendations. As we develop a plan, be assured that we will share it with our St. James family. This will take some time and we appreciate your continued patience and understanding,” the letter reads.

Other churches who were more adamant about holding in-person mass before the governor's new regulations, have remained quiet on the new reopening rules. Dedham's Victory Baptist Church was facing a cease and desist order from the town after it advertised “socially-distanced” services for Mother's Day. The church decided to challenge the order on the grounds that it had a constitutional right to assemble.

Victory Baptist Church referred comment on the new state regulations to its legal counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom. ADF could not get back to Patch in time for publication with comment on the new regulations, but offered reference to its statement about the cease and desist order. The statement reads in part:

“It makes no sense for the town of Dedham to demand that this church refrain from meeting with 10 or fewer people when the governor’s executive order explicitly allows that gathering size. The only apparent explanation is that the town wants to harass this church.”

A pastor in Worcester last week sued Baker and Worcester city officials after he was fined for holding services with more than 10 people.

While in-person services are now an option for many houses of worship, few said they were jumping back in front of crowds. Many said it may take time to implement and even after, virtual options won't fade away.

READ:

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