As Christmas draws near and the threat of the omicron variant rapidly grows, Massachusetts churches are scrambling to make sure worshippers are safe.
Churches are taking a range of precautions, asking parishioners to mask up, space out, provide proof of vaccination, take a rapid test — or some combination. Some hold services online and outside as COVID-19 case numbers surge in the Bay State. Others continue in-person holiday services, but warily.
Shifting online
At Old South Church of Boston, leadership decided to shift its in-person Christmas Eve service to online-only just two days before the holiday.
“The spiking numbers and infections, the alarming transmissibility of the omicron variant, our concern for our staff, our volunteers and our congregation, not to mention those who work in hospitals, led us to this hard decision,” said Senior Minister Nancy Taylor. The church has over a dozen volunteers during services these days.
Christmas Day will be in-person and streamed, but they’re singling out the night before because visitors often stop by after holiday parties, and they might not be used to Boston’s mask mandate, she said. The church seats 800, has a limit of 400 in-person and ropes off every other pew. Church leaders and singers are vaccinated. The congregation is considering following Wu’s lead in mandating proof of vaccination on January 15 onward.
“It seems a good thing. We haven't made that decision finally, but we're leaning toward that,” said Taylor.
Fewer services
At St. Anthony’s Shrine, which is directed by Franciscan friars, services are being cut back during the holiday.
“We truly don't know what to expect,” said Friar Tom Conway, executive director of St. Anthony’s Shrine. “We don't know whether there's going to be a big crowd or not. We don't know what people are going to do — what's the psychology? We're not really sure. Will they say, ‘Gee, I haven't been a church for a long time,’ or say, ‘It's more dangerous than ever, and maybe I won't go?’”
They’re cutting back their usual six Christmas Eve services to three, and the one mass on Christmas Day will continue as usual. The 4 p.m. Dec. 24 service will also be livestreamed and saved online. There will be no sharing of the cup during the service, a ritual where congregants drink communion wine, or wine that has become the blood of Christ according to Catholic traditions.
They’ve been worshipping in person since May 2021, and as of last weekend masks are required in the public spaces inside the shrine. Attendance, Conway said, is about 40% of what it had been before the pandemic, which helps with social distancing. Proof of vaccination isn’t required.
Asked if Mayor Michelle Wu’s recent press conference on vaccine passports and restrictions have spurred the friars to consider changes, Conway said not really.
“Not really because we're under this umbrella of religious exemption. So in terms of what we have to do with, we don't have to do anything. We're pretty comfortable. I think the combination of reduced attendance that's happening naturally in combination with the masks, we're pretty comfortable with where we are,” he said.
Rethinking church traditions
The 175 congregations of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts are mostly functioning on a hybrid model.
The in-person services require masks and physical distancing. Vaccination passports have been “consistently discouraged,” said Bishop Alan Gates, because families with children under five would be unable to attend due to a lack of available vaccines.
“We didn't want to create that kind of two-class system. Whatever form of worship a congregation was devising, we wanted it to be available to everyone,” he said on Zoom.
Children are usually part of Nativity plays, and this year, they’re prioritizing keeping kids apart. That means holding the pageants outside, delivering costumes to homes ahead of time and having children act out their portion from their pews with their families.
“All the sheep would stand up when it's time. For the moment in the story about the shepherd and the sheep, the children can stand in place and ‘Baaaaa’ to their hearts’ delight until it's time for the camels to stand up over on the other side of the church,” Gates explained.
Local clergy have reached out when the architecture of their churches doesn't allow for easy social distancing amid the Christmas throngs. In those cases, Gates said the diocese is supporting the fully virtual approach.
“People have become quite adept at finding meaning in online and virtual worship, as well as the in-person much as we yearn for the latter,” said Gates.
Masking and distancing
At Emmanuel Episcopal Church on Newbury Street, services will be in-person. “Our COVID requirements are that everyone be masked. We don't have any vaccine requirements,” said Rev. Pamela L. Werntz. “However, I'm discouraging people who are not vaccinated or who are fully vaccinated but still vulnerable to join us online rather than coming in person.” She said her congregation is mostly fully vaccinated, but they occasionally get travelers attending services.
To deal with the influx of people who usually attend service Christmas Eve, Werntz said her church is going to hold a three-part service ranging from the Christmas story and carols at 7 p.m., followed by a Holy Eucharist service and finally a cantata at the end around 8:20 p.m.
Werntz said it’s “so people can mitigate the length of their exposure” themselves, and added that the church, which seats 650 people, is anticipated to have around 200 to 250 people. She said it will be enough to still allow social distancing, and credits the church’s ventilation system — designed to stop the spread of tuberculosis in the early 1900s — for allowing them to remain in person. Her church has never closed during the pandemic; it serves a large homeless population.
Rapid tests and wariness
Rev. Kenneth Young leads Calvary Baptist Church in Haverhill, which requires proof of vaccination to attend.
“If they want to be a part of worship, we ask that they show the vaccination card,” he said, adding there’s been some pushback. The church also proctors rapid tests for anyone coming into the building.
“We’ve done a rapid test for anyone who's singing, preaching or praying, taking part of the service,” said Young.
Christmas Eve is going to be outdoors at Cavalry Baptist, with apple cider and hand warmers ready for worshipers.
But Young is also the associate director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches, which serves over 15 denominations.
“Some are asking parishioners to be masked. Some are actually screening parishioners as they come in. Many I know are doing distancing and some are registering, asking people to call in advance to save their seats for worship,” he said.
Young said different denominations have different thoughts on COVID-19 protocols. While some are imposing stringent rules, others are the opposite, where Young says they just pray they don’t get sick.
