Valley churches adapt to social distancing restrictions

In the warm glow of stained-glass windows, a lone form occupies the pews at Saint Richard Catholic Church Thursday morning.

Harriet Mize, of Columbia Falls, is there for her daily hour of prayer. Like the other Catholic churches in the state, Saint Richard has suspended Mass services as of March 17. However, the church remains open for private prayer with a 10-person maximum. For parishioners like Mize, it’s a way to stay connected to her faith even without the church community, regular services or religious rituals.

“To be able to have access to him and to be able to sit here in his real presence, in that tabernacle, it’s just something that I live for every day,” Mize said.

Churches throughout the Flathead Valley are making a variety of modifications to the way they gather and serve their community in light of the coronavirus pandemic. In Montana, 12 cases of COVID-19 have been reported as of Thursday afternoon, including four patients in Missoula County.

The White House recommends organizers cancel or postpone events with 10 or more people for an eight-week period. The organization also advises that social distancing can help the people who are most at risk avoid infection, along with covering coughs and sneezes, avoiding touching your face and staying at home when feeling ill.

As larger gatherings of all varieties cancel or postpone, religious organizations are following suit and increasingly turning to digital streaming, small-group meetings and other forms of digital communication to stay connected.

THE REV. Sean Raftis, of Saint Richard Church, said parishioners are encouraged to check in on each other, and he’s been sending out information via email or through the cellphone app, myParish.

“I think the parish has been reacting well,” he said. “It’s a little surreal — It’s unprecedented.”

In addition to the cessation of public Mass, the Diocese has instructed all baptisms be delayed, while weddings can be postponed or move forward with only the couple and two witnesses present. The Diocese is streaming Mass daily and Raftis is considering broadcasting his own Mass as well.

For those who choose to utilize Saint Richard for private prayer, the church is taking extra precautions. Parishioners are asked to maintain a safe social distance from other worshipers, while the church custodian is cleaning and sanitizing daily with special attention paid to doorknobs and other frequently touched areas. Use of the facility has been limited so far, with fewer than five entering the premises each day, according to Raftis.

“It’s been pretty sparse — people are being extraordinarily cautious,” he said. But for people like Mize who do enter, the sanctuary can provide solace in these ever-changing times.

“The church has always been a place of sanctuary,” Raftis said. “It’s a place of prayer, it’s a sacred place … it’s a place where Christ really is present.”

Canvas Church, which has campuses in Kalispell, Columbia Falls and Cut Bank, is already pretty tech-savvy and has transitioned to offering online services.

“We’re not canceling, we’re just going to do it differently,” lead pastor, the Rev. Kevin Geer said. “The church has never been about a building.”

Canvas’ online gatherings will be held Monday, Tuesday, Saturday and three times on Sunday. The church is also holding interactive social media games for youth to help keep the feeling of unity alive in the congregation. They’ll also be launching a video series called “in the Fog” with the objective of providing “practical and spiritual and emotional wisdom,” Geer said. And for folks who aren’t already connected to the web or may be uncomfortable using their devices, the church is offering tech support via phone, and if necessary, in person. Most of the church’s 50-person staff is working from home and they’re conducting meetings through the video conferencing service, Zoom.

Geer said he believes the role of the church is to be a calming voice amid so much uncertainty.

“We can bring healthy practical tools in an unsettling time that allow people to go, ‘OK I can manage this day and manage the next day,’” he said. “We want to spread peace, not virus.”

On Wednesday evenings Canvas also will be posting video interviews with community leaders to share the latest information on how the Flathead Valley is tackling the coronavirus situation. Next week’s guest is public health officer and COVID-19 incident commander Hillary Hanson and interviews with local hospital officials are also on the schedule.

Other changes include postponing other religious events such as baptisms. The church had a large baptism event scheduled for Easter, but is pushing that to a later date. Two members of the church passed in the last week, but Geer said their families have chosen to delay the memorials due to travel and gathering restrictions.

The Rev. Dan Heskett of Northridge Lutheran Church is taking a less tech-focused approach, providing written worship information and sermons for folks to use when worshiping at home. Copies of the materials will be provided via email and hard copies are available in the church narthex.

He is also encouraging members of his congregation to keep in touch with each other with phone calls and by exchanging cards and letters.

“We have people who have volunteered to help vulnerable people with running errands and grocery shopping,” he added. “The danger is to only look inward because of our own anxiety, but as a church we have to continue to look out to the outside so we can see how we can serve.”

Attendees are also asked to continue giving to the church so they can continue community outreach at organizations such as the Samaritan House, Abbie Shelter and local food bank.

“Our biggest challenge is how to be a church without gathering, because the very definition of church is community, so we are going to be learning how to do that the best way we can,” Heskett explained. “I am prepared for the long haul, however long that is. We’ve never faced anything like this before…we’re going to be learning on the fly.”

Mackenzie Reiss can be reached at mreiss@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4433.