It’s hard to sing from behind a facial covering.
But the congregation at Southside Church of Christ in Lubbock made a joyful noise this past Sunday, the first day members met in-person in over a month.
Under Texas guidelines, churches could have reopened doors back in April. Gov. Greg Abbott listed the sanctuaries under essential services. Religious leaders were required to implement minimum health protocols that included social distancing, according to a statewide order.
When gathering restrictions were loosened last week, churches were tasked with figuring out what worshiping looks like while virus COVID-19 continues to spread. Most churches in Lubbock did not return to normal the first weekend of May and continued to offer alternative options.
About 30 people attended the Sunday service at Southside. Preacher Tommy Hicks said there probably should’ve been less.
“There were people here today who I didn’t really think ought to be here,” Hicks said. “That’s my opinion, their opinion differed, as they have the right to do.”
Hicks was concerned about congregants over age 65 and those who have underlying health conditions, a population considered to be more vulnerable to the highly-contagious coronavirus.
Leaders did what they could to protect those who chose to attend, he said.
The church was deep cleaned before reopening. Attendees were required to wear a mask and were given one at the door if they didn’t already have one.
When it came time to receive sacrament, people lifted or removed their masks, but dutifully put it back on after.
Gloves and hand sanitizer were also available. A collection basket was in the center aisle for contactless offerings. People sat six feet apart, marked by blue painters’ tape on the pews.
“We also encouraged those who felt they might be at risk to continue to worship with us by means of the internet and radio,” said Church Elder Vince Fell. “I know there were a number out there who chose to do that as well, as we’ve been doing the past few weeks.”
Fell is also a vice president and chief information officer in information technology at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. He used protocols from work and recommendations from officials to plan what the first day back at Southside would look like.
“When it came time to come back, we wanted to do so in a manner that would be safe to our members here and not spread,” Fell said.
Fell was a little worried before reopening.
“We are so West Texan. In West Texas, we greet each other not with a holy kiss, but with a holy handshake,” Fell said while Hicks laughed in agreement. “My concern was that we’d have some people who might not be able to refrain from being able to come up and hug. We’re a very close, close knit congregation. We have great love for our members here, our brothers and our sisters. I was really concerned that people would be overcome when they came back together for the first time, but I’ll tell you, I was very pleased and pretty impressed by the restraint that was shown.”
Before and after the church service, congregants caught up from a distance in the parking lot. They didn't hug. They didn't shake hands. They were just together.
Pastor Hicks said even while physically apart, the pandemic has united the religious world. He has experienced community, friendship and compassion through this global experience. People are reevaluating their relationship with religion, Hicks said, and he thinks many who have left or lapsed will return to worship.
During his sermon, Hicks talked about biblical-era crises. There are lessons to learn from those, he said.
“The thing is, if you go back to what we see in the scriptures, we’re going to go through bad times one way or another, somehow or another,” Hicks said. “But we can be victorious if we’re patient and faithful to God.”
