Virtual worship: A blessing in disguise?
It was especially hard for worship team leader Emerson James when they had to shut everything down.
This year, after all, is the Cache Valley Unitarian Universalists’ 25th anniversary, a large milestone for any small church community.
In March, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert issued a public health order that resulted in the closure of churches across the state.
And when it comes to churches, Utah is not just any state — it’s a state founded by pioneers and driven by a desire to find a place to practice their religion.
Many churches turned to Zoom, Facebook and YouTube to virtually provide religious services to their congregations. A lot of churches found those avenues of worship to be lacking in connection and togetherness. So, even as the pandemic rages on, some churches in Logan have resumed in-person worship.
Others, seeing that Utah’s case counts continue to climb, have begrudgingly continued online services.
But some have not only continued but embraced the new format. They’ve found that something they didn’t want to do at first turned out to be one of the best things for accessibility and spiritual growth.
••
Although the Universalist’s regular in-person attendance is low enough that members could meet in person under state guidelines, James said the church made the difficult decision not to reopen, even once they legally could. The leaders didn’t want to exclude members who might be at a greater risk.
Zoom is the best format to “gather and have everyone be included and cared for,” James said.
But it just wasn’t the same.
“The most obvious element that is lacking with virtual as opposed to in-person meetings is the felt sense of being together,” James said. “Humans are filled by the energy and presence of others. This just doesn’t quite translate across a computer screen.”
Even singing was strange. Hearing everyone simultaneously sing live isn’t an option with Zoom, as the program tries to center on one speaker at a time.
The alternative is awkward. Muting everyone and singing alone to yourself while watching everyone’s mouths move isn’t the best experience, James said.
But then James heard the music in a different, innovative way.
The church’s music director Lyndi Perry has started a virtual choir called “Choir-ish,” where she has members record themselves singing hymns and then plays the audio together for the Zoom services.
In addition to connecting through music, online services have brought members home.
James said the church has seen an increase in the number of regulars, as members who have moved away are now able to join the Zoom meetings and be a part of the church again.
••
Before March, Pastor Derek Forbes of the First Presbyterian Church had never tried video editing in his entire life.
Now, it’s a weekly task.
Forbes edits recordings of himself, other speakers and musicians into an hour-long video service. After editing sound and adding lyrics and speakers’ names, he uploads the video to YouTube every Saturday morning.
He said the process has been challenging.
“I miss the social nature of worship, you know, just being there, shaking hands, talking and giving hugs to each other,” he said. “Considering what the world is going through right now, this is still a way for us to connect with God and with each other.”
A recorded service from Oct. 4 begins with Forbes standing in the First Presbyterian Church to make weekly announcements. The audio cuts out at one point, and words appear on the bottom of the screen to apologize for the audio trouble and clarify the announcement.
He is followed by three masked members who sing a hymn. There are several speakers, all recorded separately from the church, their homes or outside.
Forbes said the idea of returning to in-person services is discussed every month.
“We have always stuck with online worship because infection rates keep going up and down,” he said. “We think the chance of one person accidentally infecting a handful of others is too great.”
Until then, people are enjoying the online option.
Virtual attendance is up compared to in-person, and viewership is international.
“We’ve had people from Finland, Singapore and all over the United States watch our services,” he said. “It’s pretty nice. I don’t know if that will continue.”
••
Alpine Church Pastor John Belles said his church went to online services in March, but started offering both online and limited in-person services in May.
Most people are opting for the online service, he said, provided through Facebook and YouTube.
“Certainly you miss the fellowship, the connection and being able to see people face to face,” he said, “But the services are really well done. We’ve got really good recording equipment so that the picture quality is good, the worship music is good and you can go to church in your pajamas from home.”
Belles said the online option has been helpful for many members of Alpine Church.
“It’s pretty relaxing for families with younger children. You don’t have to get them ready and out of the house,” he said. “We also have some elderly members in the congregation and it just wouldn’t be wise of them to come to the in-person meetings. The online option for them is really important because they wouldn’t be able to worship without it.”
••
Pastor Dane Wead of the New Life Fellowship said his church has been offering online and in-person services since June.
In the church, seating is limited to help members social distance. Attendance is low.
Online attendance, however, is another story.
The attendance for the New Life Fellowship’s online services, Wead said, increased by the hundreds.
“We were averaging about 300 members a week before COVID, and our attendance and viewership went up,” he said. “We’re now between 500 and 1,000 a week.”
By broadcasting on Facebook, YouTube and on the church website, Wead said the church has been able to see where people are located while they watch the services.
“We can see views geographically and people have tuned in from the valley, all around the United States and throughout the world,” Wead said. “We had a family just move here from Brazil. They knew they were coming here so for the last three months they’ve been watching us online from Brazil.”
••
New Life Fellowship, Alpine Church, First Presbyterian and CVUU all plan on making online viewing options permanent. After all, online services have provided unsuspected perks. Why wouldn’t these churches want those perks to continue?
“I don’t know if we’ll just go back to the way the services were before,” James said. “Transitioning to Zoom has caused our congregation to think more deeply about accessibility and the conversations that are most important to be having.”
And after those conversations are had in churches around the world, technical difficulties aside, the way people worship will change forever.
@harriskarcin