Work goes on for places of worship in age of Covid
All areas of life have changed because of Covid. But the human instinct to attend worship and help others continues.
The effects of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown restrictions have been felt by people, businesses and organisations all across the country.
Places of worship were among those affected by lockdown, with churches, Gurdwaras, temples and a host of other buildings across the region closing their doors to worshippers in March.
Now they are back into something of a routine, welcoming worshippers in person and continuing work in the community.
It is far from business as normal. But unusual circumstances have also brought about creative solutions, and the human instinct to help others remains as strong as ever.
St Joseph’s Church in Wolverhampton, Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Smethwick and Shree Gujarati Hindu Centre Dudley, Shree Krishna Temple in Dudley are among those who have all had to adapt to the challenges during lockdown.
Father Craig Fullard, parish priest of St. Newman Cluster, which St Joseph’s is part of, said the period in lockdown and beyond had helped the church to react more to social media and technology.
He said: “In some ways, it has shown us the ways in which we are strong and how we can reach out to our communities and support one another.
“In another way, it has given us a kick in order to engage more with social media and the world wide web, making us react to things a lot quicker.”
Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick education secretary Sarbjit Singh said the Gurdwara needed to look at new ways of serving its community during lockdown.
He said: “We never truly closed as services were still going on all day through live-streaming, although the impact was definitely felt by the congregation who weren’t able to come in and pray. We also had to close the Langar kitchen, which would usually feed hundreds of people for free and which a lot of people rely on.”
Shree Gujarati Hindu Centre Dudley, Shree Krishna Temple trustee Hasmukh Patel said the lockdown effect had been hard, but the centre was working to bounce back.
He said: “It did affect us because we had to curtail all our activities, which hit our fundraising and, the impact was felt by our community.
“We are using our reserve funds at the moment, but we’re trying to create more donation events to hold at the centre, although it’s difficult with the current restrictions.”
The time spent in closure saw many places of worship look at alternative methods to engage with their congregations and serve their communities, with technology playing a large part in the process.
Father Craig Fullard was one of the first to look at the benefits of running online services, broadcasting Mass from the lady chapel at St Joseph’s. He said that while it was received well, there were some early teething problems.
He said: “I had a very cheap webcam which I stuck to the top of my laptop and, I will confess, it was very hit and miss to begin with, with the strength of the wi-fi in the chapel a definite factor. We looked at a more professional service and after raising funds with the help of members of the cluster, we were able to fit cameras in the main church and increase the wi-fi.”
Father Fullard said he had felt blessed to have the technology to be able to reach out to people in the community, a sentiment shared by Sarbjit Singh. The Gurdwara, which is the largest in Western Europe, began live-streaming from inside the prayer hall as soon as lockdown began in March, with in-house priests performing the services throughout the day.
Sarbjit said the broadcasts, which could be seen on the Gurdwara’s Facebook page, were received well by the congregation, as well as people from further afield.
He said: “More people from outside of Smethwick were watching the services as the congregation here were still adjusting to not being able to come in.”
Members of the Shree Gujarati Hindu Centre Dudley, Shree Krishna Temple in Dudley have felt the same benefits of technology, with priests performing prayers over live-streaming, as well as events being filmed.
Hasmukh said: “One of the good things to come out of Covid-19 is learning new ways of communicating and keeping in touch as a lot of our members are vulnerable.
“It’s become a virtual world which has allowed people to take part in our events in the hall and attend prayers with our priests from home.”
Alongside the virtual world was the community work all three locations pride themselves on, working to help those in their areas most in need.
St Joseph’s started a community food hub which intended to bring shopping to those people who requested help but, in the words of Father Fullard, “Morphed into something much bigger.” He said: “We intended to be a central place, but what happened was people stepped in to help and do it themselves, which really showed the spirit of community.”
Guru Nanak Gurdwara, meanwhile, utilised its Langar kitchen to ensure no one in the community went hungry, utilising volunteers and local taxi drivers to deliver food to anyone who requested it. It also provided a community support network, a service giving courtesy calls to people to make sure they were okay as a way of tackling mental health issues and the stigma of loneliness.
The Sri Krishna Temple made greater use of its online service to run wellbeing sessions as part of its community outreach service, running zoom sessions and webinars. As restrictions began to be lifted and places of worship started to reopen, each building began the work to ensure a safe welcome for worshippers passing through their doors.
All three venues have instituted one-way systems in and out, with visitors required to wear face masks and use the hand sanitiser stations instituted at the entrances.
Each venue also has clear instructions on coronavirus rules and guidance in the building, with instructions written in English and other languages as required.
At St Joseph’s, signs on the back of pews clearly indicate where people can sit, with 25 spaces set on a pre-booking system, although more people can attend if within their bubble. Additionally, the process of Mass has changed in line with Covid restrictions, with only Father Fullard taking communion and all communal wafers handed out from a sealed container.
Guru Nanak Gurdwara has set up a one-way system inside the prayer hall up to the scriptures and has covered the prayer area in a plastic covering with clear markings on the floor to remind people to stay two metres apart.
At the Sri Krishna Temple, temperature checks are taken for anyone entering the hall, while only a number of people are allowed to enter the prayer room, with clear markings on the floor as to where people can pray. The same system also applies in the community hall where seating has been set up with clearly marked crosses to ensure people are socially distanced throughout. For each member of these places of worship, it is important to have a place to express their faith, so the importance and safety of the building and the people who use it is of great importance to them.
Father Fullard said the people made the church as, without them, it was just an empty building.
He said: “It’s the place where we go and where we celebrate the sacrament’s, so it really is an important part of our faith.
“However, the people of God are equally important and without them, this place becomes meaningless, so we need to act safely to keep their physical and spiritual bodies safe.”
Sarbjit Singh said it was all about building that trust back up for people who had not yet returned to the Gurdwara. He said: “To me, it’s all about building up their faith to help them see that it’s safe to come back.”
Husmukh Patel added: “We have done all the risk assessment work and followed the guidance to ensure we can still work with the community. We firmly believe we need to retain our heritage and cultural identity and help the next generation to continue using this centre, as it is very much a community hall.”
