Churches might be locked down during the COVID-19 crisis, as people are not permitted to gather in groups of over 10 people, but local churches are finding ways to keep in touch with their congregations. Yorkton This Week spoke to Rev. Jen Dresser from St. Andrews United Church and Pastor Des Klingspon with Prairie Harvest Christian Life Centre about how they鈥檙e using technology to keep connected.
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St. Andrews is using the Zoom video conferencing service to handle their Sunday service. Each Sunday the service starts at 10:30 a.m., but people can connect and call in starting at 10:00 a.m. Dresser said that they chose Zoom for their services because of one feature, the ability to use it strictly via phone. She said that there are people who don鈥檛 have the ability to use a computer, so they wanted to stay available to them through the phone system.
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鈥淚 think some of our people who are most isolated and who live home alone are the ones who wouldn鈥檛 have access to [a computer]. It really allows lots of different people to participate.鈥�
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One advantage for Zoom is that people can connect, talk to each other, see their faces and keep in touch, Dresser explained.
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鈥淭hey can say yes, we鈥檙e here, we鈥檙e well and healthy and safe. It鈥檚 been really great to have that connecting time. Share what鈥檚 going on with people and still get that sense of community, which I feel is really important.鈥�
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Prairie Harvest uses Facebook Live for their masses, also starting at 10:30 a.m. Facebook was picked for two reasons, reach and cost, explained Klingspon. They were able to reach more people, and they would otherwise not have the server space doing this on a personal website. The masses are pre-recorded and aired, with music, updates and a message.
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鈥淲e do almost everything we were doing before, we鈥檙e offering it online on Sunday morning.鈥�
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The need for an alternate way of reaching the congregation was especially urgent for Klingspon, as he was under quarantine for 14 days due to a trip to Mexico with his wife, Cheryl.
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鈥淚t was quite a bit of a curve, and having to preach to a camera in our dining room was a little unusual too. But we鈥檝e been rolling with it, our whole team has.鈥�
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There is a learning curve with the technology, and both have had hiccups getting everything working as it should. Part of the issue is that beyond learning how to use it themselves, they also need to support people who want to take part but are unfamiliar with the tech.
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鈥淧eople are certainly willing to try it,鈥� Dresser said.
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Klingspon said that for them, the most nerve-racking part was their first service, when they didn鈥檛 even know if the files had uploaded correctly before it was scheduled to go live.
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鈥淭hey were getting notices that the link had expired, and we thought that it might have just all disappeared five minutes before it was set to air鈥� We鈥檝e got some good people who are here figuring it out.鈥�
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One thing both have noticed is that it has brought people to church who haven鈥檛 been in a long time, whether due to distance or mobility issues. Dresser said their first week they also had a digital tourist from Manitoba, who was going from coast to coast checking out different United Church services online. Klingspon said they have been seeing more people online than they would have had at church on an average Sunday.
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鈥淲e have a lot of people coming in and checking out part of the service, or the whole service, throughout Sunday, Monday and the rest of the week now,鈥� said Klingspon.
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But church is beyond just the Sunday services, it鈥檚 a community, and things like bible study and programming for children has been arranged by both churches.
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Dresser said that with the kids home from school, they wanted to give parents a break from the kids, but also have an opportunity to check in with their families, see how things are going, and how they鈥檙e coping.
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鈥淛ust know how people are and that sense of building relationships even when we鈥檙e not in the same place.鈥�
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Klingspon said that the kids are enjoying having programming for them through the church, which has included things like puppet skits as people get creative to help families.
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Both are considering how to continue staying online after it鈥檚 safe to operate normally. Dresser said that they鈥檙e looking at how they can keep doing it for the sake of people who can鈥檛 come to church physically. Klingspon said they鈥檙e having conversations about how they鈥檙e going to maintain an online presence, and they are also praying for the community on Wednesday evenings, live on Facebook, and encouraging others to pray as well, so that the world can get through the crisis.
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Both agree that in a time of crisis, they want to be there to help people navigate through the pandemic.
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鈥淲hen you turn the news on the TV, you get no shortage of bad news, of discouragement, of all the things that are going wrong. We really feel that for churches鈥� We鈥檙e here to be light and hope and help. We want to offer comfort, encouragement and hope even when nobody knows how this is going to take its course. But we have a faith that鈥檚 unshakable that we believe our future鈥檚 in God鈥檚 hands and we can trust Him. We believe that when people have a little bit of hope it goes a long way,鈥� said Klingspon.
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鈥淚 think it鈥檚 really important for people to still be connected and have that sense of community. As a church, I think it鈥檚 important for us to be able to listen to one another, to be able to pray together, to listen to scripture together, and give a sense of stopping and reflecting on where we are, where we are spiritually in this time and be able to have a sense of where our faith is in the midst of all this. I think it鈥檚 a difficult time for a lot of people and people are very afraid right now, and anxious. There is a lot of change and upheaval. To have a space to put that in context with our faith is really important for many people,鈥� said Dresser.
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Prairie Harvest is at and St. Andrews is at . Online services are also offered at Westview United Church (), at the Salvation Army (), Heritage Baptist Church (), Yorkton Alliance Church (), Parkland Community Church () and Yorkton Family Worship Centre (). St. Gerard's Roman Catholic Parish () will host streams from Resurrection Parish in Regina.
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