London churches decide to go slow on reopening

Places of worship in Ontario have been given the green light to resume services as early as this weekend, but many churches in the London area are taking a slow approach to reopening.

In a statement, the Roman Catholic Bishop of London, Ronald Fabbro, said "it's exciting news for us and all other faith communities in Ontario," but the diocese has decided that its churches will remain closed until plans to safely reopen are finalized.

The government is limiting places of worship to 30 per cent capacity and a communications specialist for the Catholic diocese, Matthew Clarke, said each parish has to develop a safe seating plan.

"Then we'll need to train our ushers and clergy and volunteers on what it's going to look like to get people in and out of the church for mass and other services."

Clarke said the diocese is also waiting for recommendations from the Catholic bishops of Ontario to address other considerations.

For instance, he said, there will no more communion from the cup until further notice.

"And Eucharistic ministers will wear masks, of course, because when they hand over communion they'll be within that social distance space."

The diocese has begun planning along these lines but needs to finalize decisions before re-opening, Clarke said.

No Anglican services until September

Bishop Todd Townshend of the Diocese of Huron said the decision allowing the resumption of worship services has been "greeted with hope and anxiety by many Anglicans."

In a statement released Monday, Townshend said a decision was made 10 days ago to keep all church buildings closed until after Labour Day.

"Nothing has changed: church buildings may be used to offer online worship [only] and to provide essential ministries such as food sustainability ministries or12-step programs."

But no regular services will be allowed until at least September 7.

"This will provide us with the opportunity to plan well for September, and to get some summer rest," said Townshend.

However, he added that some parishes have asked about holding outside services during the summer months, and he said thatis currently under consideration.

Many questions

The London Muslim Mosque issued a statement Mondaysaying they're still deciding how to move forward.

"Our primary concern is making sure that when we reopen, we meet all guidelines and are doing so safely and to minimize any COVID-19 risks," it said, adding that they're working on a safety strategy with the London Muslims COVID-19 Task Force and hoped to make an announcement in the coming days.

"We are excited about this announcement and we know you are too, but we also have a duty to be responsible to our community."

Other places of worship,such as Gateway Churchareremaining closed until they can get more answers from the government about what 30 per cent capacity means.

"Is that 30 per cent of the auditorium? Is that 30 per cent of the entire building?" asks lead pastor Rick Boyes.

Then, he said, there's the question of guidelines for church services.

"How do we get the people in? How do we get them out? Obviously, safety is the number one concern. We want to make sure that families feel safe, vulnerable people, older people feel safe. We want to make sure that our children are safe."

Boyes said he expects more specific guidance from the government by Friday, but, he added,his church won't be open at all this weekend.

"I'm suggesting to my staff that low and slow is the way to go. So we'll keep the numbers low."

Boyes said he expects they'll open their doors at the main campus on Sarnia Road within the next couple of weeks and will use the summer months to experiment with different approaches, in hopes of having a firm plan in place for September.

He said part of the plan at this point is to include some musical elements. Some health experts have warned that choir practices have sparked significant COVID-19 outbreaks in churches in the United States, England and Germany.

Boyes said the stage atthe main church is large enough that up to six singers can be safely separated by a distance of two meters.

The London Catholic Diocese said there will be no choirs when Catholic services resume because of safety concerns, but there are plans for cantorsindividuals who lead congregational singing.