In times of uncertainty, people often turn to their faith.
While some places of worship remain open during the day for private prayer, at least one area church is encouraging parishioners to continue participating in weekly services through their laptops and tablets.
St. Paul’s United Church in downtown Midland hopes its congregants and others will tune into its online service Sunday mornings.
“Very few churches have what we have,” said St. Paul’s Rev. Karen Ptolemy-Stam.
The church has actually been broadcasting its weekly services for the past three years after spending nearly $115,000 to purchase professional-grade audiovisual equipment that includes four cameras and a studio.
“The United Church of Canada is using us as a test congregation. It’s amazing that this little church in Midland got chosen. It takes five people to operate our system.”
Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency in Ontario Tuesday, mandating that all bars, restaurants and other assorted operations close as the province tries to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“We are facing an unprecedented time in our history,” Ford said of the wide-ranging move that took effect immediately and lasts until month’s end while also prohibiting organized public events of more than 50 people and includes parades, special events and services in places of worship.
St. Paul’s actually closed last Saturday to the public for both church services and meetings since 24 community groups also use the building as a precaution.
“This past Sunday’s service was very different since we decided to close before we had to,” Ptolemy-Stam said, noting 203 people had viewed the service by Tuesday.
Besides the camera and studio crew, this coming Sunday’s service will feature just Ptolemy-Stam, the church organist and the minister from Vasey’s Unity United Church.
“We’re having a joint service with a live-stream,” she said, adding that those in attendance will be practising social distancing.
The St. Margaret’s Catholic parish website, meanwhile, tells people that all regular weekday and weekend masses are cancelled and includes the following statement: “Archbishop Cardinal Collins has granted the faithful a dispensation from their Sunday obligation. This means you have not committed a mortal sin by not attending Sunday Mass.”
A message for Penetanguishene’s St. Ann’s Catholic Church says it remains open for private prayer from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with those attending to be mindful of touching frequently used surfaces (such as door handles) while ensuring that they wash their hands regularly, use hand-sanitizer and practise social distancing.
It also tells parishioners they can watch mass on their computers by going to dailytvmass.com.
As for St. Paul’s, Ptolemy-Stam said the 10 a.m. Sunday live-stream has proven popular since its introduction and allows people to watch the service at other times and days of the week.
“We have people watching from Portugal, the Netherlands and the U.S.,” she said, noting that while some have a connection to either the church or Midland, a few don’t seem to have any affiliation.
“We average 60 to 80 people a week. We also have a number of nursing homes who come together for our faith.”
Ptolemy-Stam said it’s important for people to still have a place and take the time to reflect and contemplate during these kinds of events.
“There’s a concern to keep from getting over-anxious,” she said. “Take a deep breath and now take another deep breath. We will work through this.”
She said that while people might feel overwhelmed by it all, there are things they can do.
“You can’t change things worldwide, but you can locally,” she said, noting the practices of social distancing and effective hand-washing should actually go a long way towards stemming the virus’s regional effect.
To check out the service, visit stpaulsmidland.org.
