Some churches reopen while others continue online

It has been over a month since churches in the Flathead Valley shut their doors, and after Gov. Steve Bullock lifted the stay-at-home order for Montana on April 22 many are opening their sanctuaries for services on Sunday.

It’s been a long string of weeks for several pastors who are missing seeing their congregations in person. By taking certain precautions, the leaders of the churches planning to open are confident their congregations can gather safely.

Easthaven Baptist Church in Kalispell is inviting members back into the chapel this weekend, but Generations Pastor Joey Gardner said his church recognizes not everyone is going to return to in-person gatherings in the current social climate. He estimates 50% of his congregation will come on Sunday, which they will be able to accommodate safely. Because they cannot include everyone in person, Easthaven will continue to record and offer online services for those who are not ready to gather.

“We also knew that some of our members would not be comfortable coming back yet,” Gardner said. “So we are continuing our online presence, but opening up a modified physical presence. We’ve rearranged our sanctuary seating to accommodate the six-foot physical distancing that’s recommended.”

Easthaven has spaced rows of chairs six feet apart, but left chairs in each row next to each other. They will seat families together, and then skip seating certain chairs to maintain a safe distance in between separate households. The staff set up hand-sanitizing stations at various locations within the building and plan to thoroughly disinfect all surfaces before and after each session.

Gardner said they hope to maintain a directional flow in and out of the sanctuary and the gym will act as a staging area before volunteers help people get seated in an appropriate manner. They are discouraging any visiting between separate households within the building and are hoping members can converse while distanced outside after the service.

“We’re excited to have people back under safe and appropriate conditions,” Gardner said.

Easthaven Baptist Church has a “response and re-entry team,” made up of both administrative and pastoral staff, which was formed in March to deal with the ever-changing COVID-19 situation. This team watched the dynamic conditions of the virus impacts closely, and is well-versed in all the regulations required to host in-person meetings again.

PASTOR LUKE Knoll of Cornerstone Community Church echoed similar sentiments on new practices put in place in order to preach his sermon to the congregation in person this week. Cornerstone will practice all the required health guidelines as well, and Knoll said he is ready to not be constantly battling technological issues and setbacks.

“[As a pastor] you’re fed by the excitement of the truth of God’s word transforming hearts,” he said. “So it will be way, way better than looking at a screen or little tiny camera.”

He added that Cornerstone is not a large church and it has been difficult to acquire the right equipment to deliver online services, however, he is planning to keep recording his sermons live and posting online for those who are unable to make it to the building.

Christ Lutheran Church in Whitefish had an especially unique take on returning to in-person meetings. Last Sunday the church held a parking lot service with an old-school drive-in atmosphere. As cars pulled into the church parking lot, they all tuned into the service on the radio or streamed it via cellphones.

The church’s Business Administrator Deidre Dunlap said they had close to 80 people attend, although there were fewer cars than that as families drove together, and it was an enjoyable experience. A couple in the church who own a doughnut and coffee food truck offered to provide refreshments and members did the best they could to stay distanced while visiting each other.

“It was very fun and we tried to still social distance as much as possible,” Dunlap said. “Some people brought chairs, sat outside and had the radio up while others just stayed in their cars.”

Although a good number of churches are eager to return to gathering inside their own respective sanctuaries, many are not comfortable with gathering their congregations yet.

Trinity Lutheran Church is hoping to host members in the church building again soon, but considering many church members are vulnerable, they are erring on the side of caution. Pastor Kevin Bueltmann said his church attendance has actually increased in numbers since offering virtual services and he wants to continue to reach as many people as possible.

SEVERAL LOCAL churches also expressed their online sermons and classes have been received well and are not needing to return to the actual building until everyone feels comfortable in doing so.

“The church was never built on a building, it was built on our faith in Christ and the people who share that faith,” Hope Church Pastor Lance Dannic said. “The church has never been more alive and thriving in its mission to bring hope to people through our online offerings.”

For Canvas Church, Lead Pastor Kevin Geer stated that beginning to host services in-person again just wasn’t feasible with a large church while maintaining all the safety guidelines. He said being forced to not include everyone due to distancing protocols wouldn’t create the right atmosphere.

“Just because we can, doesn’t mean it’s wise,” Geer said. “We can’t create a safe and healthy experience currently with just the amount of people we have… We just figured that we can’t provide the best environment to communicate what we want to communicate in the best way.”

Geer said he cannot wait to start preaching live again when the time is right, but that time is not now. His congregation agrees with him, too, as he said he has not received one complaint since sending out a letter stating his plans to not reopen the church doors for a while longer.

“The church will never reopen, because we never closed,” Geer said. “We’re just doing it differently, people’s needs are being met and we’re part of our community.”

Reporter Whitney England may be reached at 758-4419 or wengland@dailyinterlake.com.