Pastor Randy Phillips is worried about the health of his congregation. But it’s not only COVID-19, the disease linked to coronavirus, that keeps him up at night.
Phillips, who leads Life Family, a megachurch with four Central Texas campuses, said his pastoral staff has been swamped with calls from members reporting domestic abuse, depression, addiction and other crises.
“The isolation is beginning to take a toll on people,” he said.
After participating in conference calls with other Texas faith leaders this week — including one with Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday — to discuss new state guidelines for in-person worship services, Phillips made a decision. He will reopen his Southwest Austin church on May 3 with social distancing and other protective measures.
Phillips said he is cautious about gathering for the first time since March, but he feels many in his congregation need to come together.
“It’s not only a biblical principle that when people are together in corporate worship something supernatural happens,” he said. “It’s also the feeling of being part of a community again, not isolated. We tried to do the best we can through Zoom and streaming, but there’s nothing quite like being in the building where it happens.”
Abbott declared houses of worship as essential services last month, but most religious organizations — including mosques, synagogues and temples — closed their doors and are offering online-only services for the foreseeable future.
On Tuesday, Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued new guidelines for in-person worship, including:
• Equip ushers and greeters with masks and gloves.
• Space family units 6 feet apart and dismiss each family individually at the end of the service.
• Encourage members 65 and older to stay home or offer a service for elderly members only.
• Sanitize seats and surfaces between services.
• Consider keeping child care closed.
While some faith leaders said they appreciate the governor’s support, they said the logistical challenges of social distancing in the sanctuary are staggering. They also are worried about spreading COVID-19.
In a letter to his congregation this week, Kie Bowman, pastor of Hyde Park Baptist Church, said it is still too risky to resume in-person worship.
“While all of us want to get back to normal, the truth is life is not normal yet,” he wrote. “Travis, Williamson, Hays and other surrounding counties are still in shelter in place and work from home quarantines, the number of cases reported and the death toll from coronavirus are still rising, schools are closed and businesses are struggling. It looks like we are nearing the peak, but clearly we are not there yet.”
The Catholic Diocese of Austin has not announced plans to reopen churches, nor have mainline Protestant denominations.
Taking precautions
Phillips has the benefit of a 1,500-seat amphitheater on the church grounds where “people can spread out pretty good.” He said he will require everyone to wear masks and plans to have a sign-up sheet to limit attendance. Church members also will have the option to bring blankets and sit on the lawn. The church expects about 450 people at each service.
Most pastors, though, must determine how to keep their congregations safe in an enclosed space if they choose to reopen. That’s no small task, said Tim Hawks, lead pastor of Hill Country Bible Church.
Hill Country staff members have been going through the sanctuary with a measuring tape, trying to determine how to stagger families 6 feet apart. Based on their calculations, Hawks said, the church’s main campus near Lakeline Mall can accommodate about 20% of its normal capacity.
But Hill Country has four Austin-area campuses, two of which meet in school buildings, which Hawks said might not be usable with schools now closed for the year. Normally, about 6,200 people attend services at the four locations. How could the church accommodate everyone while practicing social distancing?
Hawks said it would require the church to hold 12 services a week. More likely, the church would have to require members to reserve a space online to guarantee a seat.
“I want (staff) to figure out how we can do it while we’re thinking about if we’re going to do it,” he said.
At Austin Ridge Bible Church in Westlake’s Cuernavaca neighborhood, pre-pandemic services were already a tight squeeze and required an overflow building. The church recently started construction of a new sanctuary to accommodate the growth.
The idea of reopening the church now is unfathomable to Tara LeBlanc, who has attended Austin Ridge with her family for more than eight years.
“We are already busting at the seams,” she said.
And that’s not counting the children, she said. LeBlanc’s kids, who are in fifth and third grades, attend age-appropriate programs while she and her husband are in worship.
LeBlanc said she’s in no rush to return to the building, especially since church staff have helped members feel connected through emails and phone calls. After LeBlanc posted an online prayer request for a friend in the hospital, a pastor called to pray with her.
Financial concerns also loom for congregations. Though many churches have online tithing options, without a Sunday collection plate, pastors around the country have reported a loss in revenue.
Giving at Life Family churches is down 15%, Phillips said, though he noted that the drop in spending has made up for the loss.
The Very Rev. Bud Roland, pastor of St. John Neumann Catholic Church in West Lake Hills, said he has pushed more parishioners to give online. But church staff members, he said, still worry about job security.
Public perception
Phillips acknowledged feeling “unsettled” as he prepares for May 3. With 4,000 to 6,000 people who rely on Life Family, though, he said he wants to try to meet their needs. Still, he knows next Sunday will be too soon for many to return.
“For those that feel trepidation,” Phillips said, “the online experience is really good.”
In weighing whether to reopen, church leaders are also considering public perception.
Some pastors, including Louisiana pastor Tony Spell who is facing misdemeanor charges, have come under harsh scrutiny for holding services in violation of public health orders.
“There are people to the extreme who have a God is greater than COVID-19 (belief), and so throwing caution to the wind and using faith to be bulletproof, they just charge forward,” Phillips said. “That’s just so incredibly negligent and inappropriate.”
Phillips, who along with his father, has been in ministry for decades in Austin, is hoping his approach is more responsible. But he is willing to reconsider if there is a public uproar.
“We’re concerned about the community and don’t want to appear that we’re thumbing our nose in the face of a horrible pandemic,” he said.
Hawks said the vast majority of pastors seek to follow city and county rules on public gatherings.
But he shares Phillips’ concerns about the mental and spiritual health of his congregation. While Hill Country staff check in regularly with members, he worries about the people they aren’t reaching — the ones who aren’t on a call list or don’t seek help from the church.
“It’s typically not healthy for people to be isolated, whether people of faith or no faith,” Hawks said. “We were made for relationships. We thrive in community.”
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