With new guidelines restricting public gatherings to 10 people, Macon County worshippers have been unable gather at church for services – including Good Friday and Easter Sunday – but that isn’t stopping churches from reaching out.
Streaming sermons online has become the norm for most area churches. By using Facebook Live or Zoom, many churches are giving members the option to watch simultaneously or on their own time and interact with other members online.
At First United Methodist Church, leaders are also expanding online conferencing to accommodate small groups and classes.
“We have organized and are training our leaders to conduct meetings using Zoom for their meetings in April and May,” pastor David Beam said. “We are communicating with our church council and leadership directly through email and each individual small group is doing the same.”
Not every church member in the county has adequate access to the internet for streaming sermons, but churches are exploring other means of communicating with these members.
Holly Springs Baptist Church is continuing its weekly devotional radio broadcast and livestreaming Sunday services through social media, and keeping members posted about current events through One Call.
Pastor Donnie Seagle of Holly Springs Baptist thinks that even a brief weekly conversation with church officials can help a member feel more connected to the church family while services are suspended, especially if they have specific needs that church staff can meet.
“Our deacons have begun calling every family on our resident membership roll to see if they have any needs and staff are doing the same,” he said.
With Easter Sunday coming April 12, many churches intend to stream at least one sermon on the Easter story, and many have additional programs scheduled.
Pastor Janet Greene of Clark’s Chapel United Methodist Church and Union United Methodist Church is planning a daily walk to the cross in the days leading up to Easter and will even be conducting virtual communion to make Easter Sunday feel as realistic as possible.
“Our bishop has given us permission to conduct communion through media,” Greene said. “People will need to gather some bread and hopefully grape juice, but water will do.”
Greene also said that despite all of the challenges, there has been a rewarding side to conducting services from a distance. She’s learned new ways to keep in touch with her members and has even reached new congregants because of the power of online influence. When church activities do return to normal, she thinks that the church family will return bigger and stronger than ever.
“I would probably have never taken the time to learn how to post sermons on Facebook if I had not been forced to do so,” Greene said. “That is a silver lining in this time. It is reaching so many other people.”