Clergy debate how and when to reopen Haldimand-Norfolk churches

The electronic sign outside St. Paul's Presbyterian Church in Simcoe flashes a hopeful message: When life knocks you down, Jesus picks you up."

But the pews of the downtown church remain empty because of COVID-19, and will until September at the earliest.

And even that might be pushed off, depending on the health concerns at the time," said Rev. Mikal Schomburg. We want to be really careful about how we come back."

When and how to reopen has occupied the minds of religious leaders in Haldimand-Norfolk since the province announced they could welcome back worshippers as of June 12, as long as safety protocols were in place and attendance was capped at 30 per cent of capacity.

With typically elderly congregations that are more vulnerable to the worst effects of COVID-19, it's not a decision to be taken lightly.

People are anxious to get back to church," said Rev. Alan Dufraimont, pastor of Norfolk County's four Roman Catholic parishes, which had parishioners in the pews this weekend for the first time since March.

Before they stepped foot inside the church, parishioners were met by masked and gloved volunteers who asked them questions about their health. Then they had to sign in - giving their surname and phone number to help with contact tracing, if need be - and were escorted to their seats.

They can't choose their old pews," Dufraimont said. We fill the church from the front to the back, so people don't have to walk by each other."

The service is bereft of music and many of the rituals that characterize a typical Catholic mass. Everything's simplified for less activity, less movement. The ritual's really downplayed," Dufraimont said.

There's no chatting afterward or lingering in the church hall for coffee and treats.

While glad to be near his flock again, Dufraimont said the adaptations forced by the pandemic do change the feel of the service. You lose a sense of community and connectedness," he said. It's there through the sacrament ... but the fellowship, the hugs, shaking hands, gathering outside, we're going to miss that."

Even with capacity reduced by only allowing every third pew to be used, he didn't expect to turn anyone away this weekend.

Fifty per cent (of worshippers) are not ready to come back. They're afraid," Dufraimont said.

He encourages those who aren't comfortable coming to church, or aren't feeling well, to stay home and watch the mass on the church's Facebook page.

At St. Paul's, Schomburg uses a GoPro camera to film the weekly service, followed by a coffee hour on Zoom.

The online services will continue to be broadcast even after the doors reopen to benefit older church members who are housebound and those who aren't comfortable being in a crowd. Schomburg says St. Paul's could hold about 60 attendees under the current restrictions. If most of his 100-plus worshippers wanted to return, the church would have to schedule additional services.

There's not a lot of appetite for that," he said, citing the need for extra cleaning and the challenge of how to split up the congregation.

Churches are not classified as an essential service like a grocery story or pharmacy. But as a source of practical and emotional help, Schomburg said, they perform a vital function.

Church do provide essential services. But the essential service is not the Sunday worship. That's what we all think of, and it's an important part of building community," he said. But there are other essential services - hosting AA meetings, and all these kinds of things that really touch people's lives. Those things have had to stop. That's a real heartbreaker. It leaves a huge gap."

Some 50 community members turn to St. Paul's each month for food and toiletries through a program that's now on hiatus. Schomburg said he gets phone calls from people looking for immediate help" and to talk through their anxieties about the pandemic.

Outreach to Norfolk's significant migrant farm workers has also changed. The Catholic parishes broadcast a weekly mass in Spanish for the workers, but Schomburg's practice of helping to organize on-farm church services and hosting free street barbecues on nights the workers come to Simcoe to shop has been halted.

That one really tears my heart out," he said. They need that support more than ever, because they're living incredibly stressful lives. They're far from home, working really hard, exposed to dangers. But we're not able to minister to them."

Schomburg knows he can't keep his church closed forever. When the doors do reopen, it'll likely be with no music and the congregation's faces hidden behind masks.

Communion would go from tearing into a fresh-baked loaf to handing out individually packaged pieces of bread.

It's an impoverished version of what we're used to," Schomburg said.

J.P. Antonacci's reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows him to report on stories about the regions of Haldimand and Norfolk.