EMILY HSUEH
PONTIAC Jan. 13, 2021
As per the new restrictions announced by the provincial government last Wednesday, churches and places of worship will be closed until further notice.
Many churches began streaming their services on platforms like Facebook, and will be forced to continue this method as in-person services are no longer permitted.
Stuart Marples, pastor at New Hope Christian Fellowship in Shawville said he is . . .
disappointed with the announcement but understands the need for it.
“It’s disappointing for us because we think in our area that the danger attached to a limited number of people going to church was pretty minimal if not non-existent,” he said. “We were careful to follow all the guidelines with hand-washing and sanitizing and masking and so on. But I understand that the premier has a huge weight of responsibility on his shoulders and he’s just doing the best he can to figure out what’s best for the province … We’ll continue to do the best we can to serve the people in our congregation and the people in Shawville.”
New Hope reopened to in-person services in October with a maximum of 35 people as per orange zone guidelines. In the summer, they had been hosting outdoor drive-in services as well as streaming them online. When the red zone restrictions were announced, the church could host 25 people for in-person services, which they did twice every Sunday to allow more people to attend.
“We would prefer to be able to continue what we were doing… but we’ll accept what [Legault] dictated for the time being and do the best we can to offer the spiritual and emotional and relational support that people depend on us for.”
Marples estimates that 15 to 20 per cent of the people who were coming out were residents with no internet connection or Facebook account, and is especially disappointed that they will have to miss out completely.
Rev. Susan Lewis of The Anglican Parish of Western Quebec stated she saw a decrease in the number of people attending in-church services this year. She noted it has similarly been the attendees who do not have internet. But with so few people attending, it is a good sign that “people are quite happy to stay home and stay safe,” she said. Their services are also available by phoning in to accommodate those without internet.
The organization had been streaming services online since the beginning of the pandemic as well online as well, which is what they will be doing once again.
“Prior to going into red we were doing an online Sunday service plus having services at Holy Trinity Danford Lake and at St. Paul’s hall … our diocese put us into red with no in-person worship the week of Christmas,” Lewis said. “We pivoted back to what we were doing for many months which is online service on Facebook until we’re able to open again, whenever that might be.”
Additionally, the parish will also be offering several virtual events and workshops to take part in. Normally these events would take place in person, but they have found ways to keep them going from the safety of the participants’ homes.
“We have quite a few things in the hopper right now,” Lewis said. “We have a mental health initiative that we’ve been working on for the last year and a half. The sentinel program creates watchdogs in families and communities to watch out for and keep an eye on people with mental health [issues] and be able to reach out.”
There are limited spaces for sentinel training which are in two sessions: either Feb. 9 and 16 from noon – 4 p.m. or Feb. 10 and 20 from the same times. Anyone interested in signing up must do so a week in advance.
Other events the parish is offering include a book study Thursday nights from Feb. 4 – Mar. 11 and virtual coffee hour every Wednesday morning. They will also be resuming the Friday night hooley, a “kitchen party” with live country music. The musicians will be coming together virtually, and participants can either join the Zoom call or call in by phone.
For anymore information on the services The Anglican Parish of Western Quebec is offering, people are invited to reach out to Rev. Lewis at 613-878-0081 or by email at revsusanlewis@gmail.com.
Lastly, all the churches in the Pontiac will be teaming up to help the region observe the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which begins on Monday Jan. 18. Representatives from the Pontiac’s churches will meet via Zoom and perform a conjoined service which will be shared on all of their social media pages on Jan. 19.
Though the churches remain closed to the public, residents are encouraged to stay safe and attend the many events and services planned.
“I know it’s really hard on people but I think it is the right thing to do,” said Lewis. “We are still looking at many months of this and I think we all have to be as careful as we can, wear our masks, look after each other in every possible way and if that means unfortunately closing down — which I know is really hard on any business — if it means doing that then that’s what we have to do.”
