COLUMBIA, S.C. — Many aspects of our lives have changed in the past year, the way we address one another, the way we work and the way we worship.
Churches were forced to adapt quickly to a world during a pandemic with empty pews and for some, a whole new world of technology.
Virtual music, virtual worship, virtual sermons, it's what Pastor Carey A. Grady has been doing for the past year, “It’s different but it’s part of a short term/long term new normal.”
His church Reid Chapel AME went from worshipping in pews to watching online after COVID19 swept the world.
Pastor Brad Smith of Eastminster Presbyterian Church remembers, “It was unfathomable, wasn’t it? The thought that churches and so much of our corporate life would be shut down.”
Pastor Jon Ludovina, family discipleship pastor of Midtown Fellowship recalls, "Pretty quickly we started going ‘this is going to be longer than we think.’ What was it? Two weeks to flatten the curve? We were a little skeptical about that." Ludovina continues, "But probably we were thinking a few months. Maybe it would get into the summer- which would be crazy- but we’ll be ready to re-launch in the fall. And now it’s a year later and we only started gatherings of any kind in January.”
While churches like Midtown have started some form of in-person service, others have not returned at all. Some are still relying on virtual worship for their members.
“The actual dates and programs never stopped," Pastor Grady told News19, "so bible study never stopped, Sunday school never stopped, worship service never stopped, it was just not in person.” Congregations like those at Reid Chapel AME quickly transitioned to Zoom and conference calls to stay connected, just from their own homes.
“The good news is, God is everywhere and our homes can be set aside and become a place of worship we just have to think a little bit differently," Pastor Smith says. Eastminster Presbyterian put all the resources they could on their website. Yoga classes, calming and coping classes and even devotionals for children.
“Thinking back to last March and April- what we heard, again and again, was what we could not do. So we had to turn around and say ‘ok what is it we can do?’” Pastor Smith remembers.
Reid Chapel stepped up to serve as a COVID19 testing site for their community, “I think people just knowing there’s a testing site in their community, that there’s a congregation and congregations that are concerned about the people, I think it helps everyone with lifting their spirits knowing that there are persons who really care and people who are just trying to do the right thing and reach out," Pastor Grady says.
A feeling of resilience and coming together has shown through for most, “Through out it, our people have been very patient, very generous," Pastor Ludovina says. "I know we raised 40 or 50 thousand dollars to help out anyone who lost their job or who needed groceries or who needed their utilities or their car rent paid. So what I’ve seen from our people mostly has been a lot of generosity and a lot of flexibility.”
Pastor Smith says, “One of the things that the pandemic has made clear - we know deep down that we’re all connected. We’re all connected. The way I live and the way you live, they influence one another. And to see that and to say ok how is it we work together to find common ground, to build up one another, to encourage one another. To help other humans develop their full capacity as children of God.”
“We’ve all learned what’s most important to us," Pastor Grady adds. "We’ve learned what we can live with and live without, and we recognize how important community and the church is to all of us, the faith community is to all of us.”