Churches adapt to new COVID restrictions

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This article was published 14/11/2021 (1587 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Anna-Lisa Rice belted Who You Say I Am Sunday morning, it was to a congregation of the fully vaccinated.

Her Portage la Prairie holy place, Prairie Alliance Church, fell under the umbrella of those in the Southern Health region’s latest restrictions.

“We’re still doing our best to stay connected,” Rice said.

The decision to accept only double-dosed people Sunday was a quick one, just like the turnaround time for churches to implement new measures the province outlined Friday.

As of Saturday, many areas in Southern Health’s range must limit religious gathering sizes to 25 people, unless they can physically separate groups into 25-person cohorts. Buildings can reach a maximum 25 per cent, or 250 person, capacity. Such restrictions do not apply if gatherings are limited to fully vaccinated individuals.

Worshippers could watch Prairie Alliance Church’s Sunday services online. Church officials will meet this week to discuss how to navigate the current restrictions, Rice said.

“I don’t envy anybody making decisions,” she said — government included.

“I think they’re just doing the best with the hand that they’ve been dealt, which is a pretty terrible one.”

Rice wears earbuds when performing, to hear herself, but she likes to leave one out to catch the crowd singing along. Pre-pandemic, a chorus of hundreds would join her. But, since COVID-19 struck, Rice has sung for reduced numbers — she guessed Sunday’s two services garnered 100 attendees — or no physical congregation.

The restrictions are worth it to end the pandemic, she said.

“As a church family, we’ve got to take care of one another, and part of that means keeping each other healthy and safe,” she said. “My hope is that whenever this is all over… we can just all come back together as a family with no bitterness or resentments towards each other.”

The new restrictions likely won’t cause unvaccinated Manitobans to get their shots, said Winkler Mayor Martin Harder. The city is among those with the lowest vaccination rates in the province.

“The ones that are ingrained into their beliefs that the government is doing this for control only, their thoughts are just simply going to go deeper,” Harder said.

What is changing minds is local, notable people who’ve become ill. One prominent 47-year-old realtor died, shaking some in the community, Harder said.

“That’s very, very hard to take, and just a reminder that you’re not immune just because you’re under 50,” he said.

Despite headlines, most churches in the region have been following public health orders, Harder said. He finished watching an online service before speaking to the Free Press — his church reverted to virtual-only for the day.

Sunday’s message included not being contrary to government regulations, Harder said.

“The purpose of the church is to draw individuals to a relationship with Jesus Christ,” he said. “We lose sight of the fact when we become so involved… with the political side of it.”

In Altona, churches have shifted operations: some require vaccination status and some are solely livestream, while others mix in-person and virtual, according to Mayor Al Friesen.

“I think, by and large, people are doing their best to adjust,” he said.

He echoed Harder in saying the new restrictions won’t change folks’ minds on getting vaccinated.

The municipalities of Cartier, Headingley, Macdonald, Ritchot, St. Francois Xavier and Taché (all of whom are in the Southern Health region) are not affected by the tightening of restrictions on religious gatherings.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com

 

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