By Julie BUTCHER

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

~ Romans 15:13

The church has been working to build its presence online for a long time and for many the current pandemic has provided the ultimate opportunity.

“This is like social media boot camp for us,” said Montrose Church’s Lead Pastor Dave Roberts who seeks the bright spots in leading his community of faith facing a pandemic.

This is hard, he acknowledged.

“People are lonely; this is wearing on them. They’re hungry for interaction and encouragement and we’re working hard to help everyone feel included.”

The church has moved its services entirely online and Roberts is seeing this need for community being served in new ways. Families in other parts of the country can join and Roberts believes the changes will last beyond the immediate crisis. Bible study on Zoom?

“Moms [who] used to hustle to find a babysitter can be part of it, from here or Pasadena [the church has a Pasadena campus],” said Roberts. “This is breaking down barriers for people who weren’t previously connected. Last week a 96-year old gentleman joined us from a convalescent home in Virginia.”

Always humble, he also acknowledged finding that he was not as funny online as in person.

The Montrose Church (https://montrosechurch.org/) airs its Sunday services at 10 a.m. via Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/montrosechurch/ and has even developed an app (text Hello to (818) 538-2442).

Rabbi Sharon Brous, founder and senior rabbi of the Los Angeles-based Jewish congregation IKAR, addressed her congregation through Zoom, reminding them of the redemptive message of the season in her sermon called “Passover in a Time of Pandemic.”

“The story of our ancestors leaving Egypt is told and retold not because it was a one-time event, but instead because it birthed a new, redemptive paradigm. This story becomes an eternal reminder that our ancestors journeyed from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from mourning to celebration, from darkness to a great light, and from enslavement to redemption (Mishnah Pesachim 10:5), and so will we.

“When we sit down to Seder, on the eve of Passover, we remember that we’ve seen terrible darkness before. We have been imprisoned, enslaved, deported, and dehumanized. Our holy sites have been desecrated. We have been surrounded by devastation and destruction. But our story doesn’t end in darkness. Ours is a journey m’afeilah l’orah – from darkness to light.”

“We’ve spent a decade and a half working to create community in person, resisting the tendency to isolate with our devices; we’ve learned how to be present for each other, to dance and cry and grieve together,” Brous spoke of the challenges of moving to Skype, about teaching “boomers to use Zoom.”

“In the last month, we’ve found these same tools of technology allow us to come together in extraordinary ways both to celebrate Shabbat and other Jewish traditions but also to bring comfort to mourners, to really show presence.”

As Sabrina Shelton reported in her article “Keeping God’s Doors Open” (CV Weekly, March 26), local communities of faith are “leaning in harder with their relationship with God and their neighbors, and those who may not have visited a church in a while are suddenly digging within themselves to have some faith at the moment. Most churches have moved services online, either through Facebook Live or private streaming services.”

Glendale’s Incarnation Catholic Church https://www.facebook.com/IncaGlendale/live/ is building a robust online presence. Parishioner, principal of La Salle College Preparatory in Pasadena, and wife of Glendale City Councilmember Ardashes “Ardy” Kassakhian, Courtney Kassakhian appreciates the effort “because this time more than ever we need the opportunity to connect with something bigger than ourselves. We need opportunities to be reminded of all the good and helpful things in the world and not just be bogged down by the difficulties we are facing.”

At St. Luke’s of the Mountains
(www.stlukeslacrescenta.org/), Rev. Dr. Antonio Gallardo acknowledges the challenges while being hopeful for the changes.

“At the beginning, this challenged our theology. But we are not about buildings; we are about people,” he said. “Holiness can be anywhere and can be found anywhere. The original churches were home churches. At St. Luke’s we invite everyone to create a holy space at home, a space to pray and disconnect from the business of our own homes.”

Gallardo understands his congregation’s need for communion and reminds them they can still share a meal together, virtually, in Jesus’ name.

“The night before he knew he was going to be killed, before sitting down to eat with his disciples, Jesus talked about being a servant. He washed the feet of his apostles. Every time we meet, every time you get together in my name, have a meal together.”

The Episcopal denomination, Father Gallardo explained, believes in science.

“The day we had to stop touching each other,” he recalled, “was the most difficult day for us. But as the church as offered its services online, the congregation has moved quickly to participate. [On a recent] Sunday, participants logged in from across the country – Wisconsin, Pennsylvania – and across the world – Chile, Venezuela, Spain – more people than typically attend one of the church’s weekly masses.

“I try to make the [online] experience as close as possible to face-to-face. I brought home items from the church that make it look familiar and the service is a little shorter to adjust for people’s attention spans. We aim to make it interactive, asking for comments. The musicians participate by Zoom and we ask for readers also from their homes, finding new ways to be together.

“Ours is a small church, historically depending on the priest. Now, volunteers are calling each of our senior families once a week to check in on them, to get to know them, to let them know they’re not alone. We learned that we have seven families in extreme need and have wrapped around them to provide food and whatever they need. We learned that one family was having difficulty negotiating with their landlord, even after having offered to pay half of the rent.

“We would have ever never learned these things if we hadn’t called. Now we’re doing Bible study on Wednesday and Zoom prayers on Friday evenings. People have asked for a new banner for the church to let people know what we’re doing and that everyone is welcome. These are positive changes that will last beyond the pandemic.”

When will churches re-open?

“When the experts say that it’s safe and not before,” Rev. Gallardo answered. “We’re sacrificing now, out of love, to keep you safe.”

St. Luke’s board voted to continue to pay the full salary of all of its employees, “because it was the right thing to do.”

“That day a congregant called and told me that if we were going to keep paying the staff, they she would donate to cover the costs,” said Rev. Gallardo. “That’s what happens when you take a leap of faith and put out goodness.”

  Julie BUTCHER