With covid-19 infections spiking, Arkansas churches are re-evaluating whether to continue in-person worship services.
Most have opted to keep meeting, despite the spread of the omicron variant, though some are scaling back activities. Others are revising plans because their pastors have fallen ill.
At Westover Hills Presbyterian Church in Little Rock, the elders have temporarily suspended on-site gatherings.
"In light of the omicron caseload and hospitalizations, we elect to close worship services, beginning Jan. 9, for the remainder of January," the church's governing board, known as a session, announced. "We will record services and post them online."
Adrienne Kulousek, who serves on the church's reopening committee that recommended the closure, said its members will confer again later this month.
They will closely monitor the covid numbers before making any decisions.
"We wanted to try and base it on science rather than emotion," she said. "Of course, all of us would much prefer to be in church in person. Zooming and recording and online stuff is not the same," she said.
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Another Little Rock house of worship, Asbury United Methodist Church, hasn't held indoor worship services since late December. Its services are available online and the church is exploring "outdoor worship opportunities" as well, according to its website.
"The situation is dynamic and fluid, and we will monitor and adjust on a week-to-week basis," church leaders said in a joint statement posted online. "Thank you for your continued patience and positive response as we all work together to keep our Asbury family safe while worshipping God and caring for one another!"
Less than two miles away, St. James United Methodist Church has decided to keep its doors open.
Its pastor, Ben Crismon, said masks are again required on campus. Other than worship, all in-person gatherings were suspended for two weeks.
The congregation's website acknowledges it's a fluid situation, with the calendar being updated "on an ongoing basis as the covid-19 situation plays out."
On Wednesday, the congregation's Relaunch Committee will meet and "make further decisions," Crismon said.
The church's covid response will be influenced by data, such as active cases and hospitalizations, as well as input from the medical professionals who serve on the committee, he added.
"Obviously, [the] health and safety of all of God's children, that's paramount for us," he added.
In Arkansas, any church closings are voluntary.
"The State of Arkansas respects the separate and unique role of the church and does not have mandates or directives for houses of worship," the Arkansas Department of Health notes on its website.
Stewart Smith, General Presbyter of the Presbytery of Arkansas, said each Presbyterian congregation gets to decide for itself whether to continue meeting.
In some congregations, there's little appetite for rehashing past covid-19 debates, so "they're just kind of plowing ahead, taking precautions [like] mask wearing and whatnot, but hoping for the best," he said.
"My guess is that most of the folks in the Presbyterian congregations are vaccinated," Smith said.
For some, the previous shutdown was painful and left people isolated, he said.
They decided church was "an essential activity," he said.
'DESPERATELY WANTING'
"A lot of folks were not making any type of statement on the vaccine or the virus," he said. "Some people, they just genuinely said, 'I need my church right now, perhaps more than any other time.' And they were desperately wanting their church to hold services," he said.
For many denominations, the decision on whether to meet is made on the congregational level.
Craig Jenkins, director of convention advancement and news for the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, said some Baptist congregations have canceled midweek activities and some have suspended Sunday School classes.
He's unaware of any Southern Baptist churches in Arkansas that have ceased gathering for Sunday worship services, he said.
"The churches of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention (ABSC) are thankful for the freedom to worship and serve their communities, but are sensitive to being a safe environment for people to gather," he said in a written statement.
"With the recent rise in covid cases, churches are taking various actions out of an abundance of concern and care. Since the ABSC does not have authority over the decisions of local churches, each pastor and church must work with their own church based on the conditions and circumstances of their communities," he wrote.
Thus far, Arkansas Catholics are still gathering, according to Dennis Lee, the diocesan chancellor for administrative affairs.
Bishop Anthony Taylor is scheduled to celebrate a Mass today honoring the memory of Martin Luther King at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock and another, Sunday, before the annual March for Life.
Elsewhere, Catholic church doors remain open.
"No parishes have suspended in-person services completely. However, several priests have tested positive for covid-19 and the diocese is working to find other priests to cover for them," he said in an email.
"It is too early to know if enough priests will be available to cover all the scheduled Masses for this coming weekend. If not, a parish without a priest will have the option of a Liturgy of the Word with Communion Service led by a deacon," Lee wrote Wednesday.
The diocese is following state and federal guidance on quarantining after covid exposure and those who test positive are being isolated, he added.
"The Diocese of Little Rock has not issued any new mandates for parishes related to the omicron variant of covid-19. Pastors are free to implement any health and safety protocols they think are best for their parish based on their local situation," he said.
COFFEE HOUR SUSPENDED
Episcopal congregations also have been given leeway.
At St. Luke's Episcopal Church in North Little Rock, the Eucharist is still celebrated on Sundays, but coffee hour has been suspended for the time being.
Masks are once again required upon entry and social distancing is being observed.
Wine is no longer being offered during Communion.
The parish's Festival of the Senses concert scheduled for Tuesday, featuring violinist Kiril Laskarov and pianist Carl Anthony, has been canceled. Uncertainty about the potential crowd size had made organizers uncomfortable.
"There's a predictable number of people in the church at one time [on Sunday morning], but with the concert, you just don't know how many people are going to come and whether we can socially distance properly or not," said Nancy Crow, the program director and a church member. "It just felt like it was the safest thing to do."
The church's annual meeting, set for Jan. 23, was still in limbo earlier in the week.
If the covid numbers fall, it could be possible to meet. If they remain high, the event will be held on Zoom.
"[W]e will see what transpires over the next couple of weeks," members were told on Sunday.
Aminiel Kombe Awichi holds his daughter, 22-month-old Karrine Kombe Awichi, following her baptism at Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock in November. With the omicron variant spreading, Grace Lutheran Church is now requiring worshipers to wear a mask; Tuesday choir rehearsals have also been canceled. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Frank E. Lockwood)