Church leaders optimistic end of pandemic is near

With new COVID-19 cases waning over the past several weeks, churches and their congregations are optimistic that better times are ahead, according to local pastors.

The Rev. Scott Lohse, pastor of St. Martin’s United Church of Christ, 7890 Dittmer Road, in Dittmer, said once the pandemic has been tamed, he foresees a revival in church attendance.

“I think people are missing it so much, they’re going to come back with enthusiasm,” he said.

During the pandemic, the internet has proven indispensable for his church members, many of whom skew older, he said.

“We’ve been pretty cautious. Much of our congregation is over 60,” Lohse said.

He said when St. Martin’s has held in-person services during the pandemic, they have been outside to allow for social distancing.

“We’ll go back to outside services over Easter, April 4,” Lohse said.

However, he said St. Martin’s, which has a congregation of about 400 people, will return to 50-percent indoor capacity indoor worship on Mother’s Day, May 9.

During the pandemic, attendance has been light at any in-person church events that have been held.

“Average attendance at our events has been about 60,” he said. “We have had drive-up communion. Our folks park in parking spaces. We have been using a radio channel.”

The drive-in approach led to an amusing incident at a service, Lohse recalled.

“(The radio channel broadcast) malfunctioned in July and we quickly rigged up a speaker system,” he said. “I gave communion as they drove by. At the end of the service, I was using a Bluetooth speaker to play recorded music and – over the speaker – it said the battery was getting low during the benediction. I said it was a sign from God for us to dismiss.”

He said St. Martin’s finances have remained stable over the pandemic.

“Our congregation has been so concerned about keeping commitments, the almsgiving has been just as good, if not better (than normal),” Lohse said.

Central Baptist

Pastor Dennis Gard of Central Baptist Church, 601 N. Central Ave., in Eureka said his congregation has pulled together to make it through this challenging time.

“We have survived it quite well, actually,” Gard said. “We have seen a decline in (in-person) attendance but an increase in our online streaming viewership.”

He said he holds an additional service each week to allow for social distancing.

“We had an average attendance of about 170 before the pandemic,” Gard said. “We’re currently running about 110 a week and have gone to two services on Sundays for social distancing. We do encourage masks.

“It’s challenging to quantify our live viewership. In the week after Sunday services, we’ll have 120 to 130 views. It’s probably 30 to 40 watching the whole service. We had started the online shortly before the pandemic.”

He said Central Baptist’s finances have not been impacted during the pandemic.

“Our finances have not had a significant decline,” he said. “We ended 2020, actually, a little ahead of our 2019 numbers. Our contributions were better.”

He said cleaning has been a priority at the church.

“We invested in equipment that does the fogging, antibacterial spray,” Gard said.

He said he feels an optimism among his congregation after months of struggle through the pandemic.

“There’s a positive spirit in the church, with people coming back,” he said. “We’ve gotten some new visitors, which is positive.”

First Baptist of Arnold

First Baptist Church of Arnold, 2012 Missouri State Road, also has seen congregation members band together during the pandemic, said Pastor Kenny Qualls.

“We’re very grateful the church has never been stronger and more united,” he said. “We say we’re one church onsite and online.”

Qualls said the church has offered services online for 10 years, but the pandemic has made that option more valuable than ever.

“Our attendance is about 50 percent in-person of what it was pre-COVID,” he said. “Before the pandemic, we would have 2,500 on campus for Sunday services. That’s spread out over the entire morning.

“Online, we’re probably pushing 2,000 viewers a week. That’s being conservative.”

The church follows health guidelines concerning COVID, Qualls said.

“We have remained consistent in safety, sanitizing and distancing,” he said. “We sanitize between services. We have blue tape on the back of pews to space people out. We follow the mask mandate.”

Qualls said he has been impressed with the congregation’s giving during the pandemic, especially since many families have struggled with job loss and income reduction.

“Our people are incredibly generous,” he said. “Our finances have never been stronger.”

Qualls said the congregation has tried to help others in the community during the pandemic.

“We’ve hosted blood drives, food drives,” he said. “There have been a number of needs in the community.”

Qualls said his congregation seems hopeful that better times are coming this year.

Also this year, the church is celebrating its 70th anniversary.

“We always say, ‘Crisis is not forever, but Christ is forever,’” he said. “We say that all the time.

“Our hope is not based on the circumstances around us, but Christ in us. We know this has been a very difficult year for many people. We believe in our church family.”

St. Rose of Lima

Father Alex Anderson, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, 504 S. Third St., in De Soto, said he also sees more hope among his parishioners these days.

“We’re beginning to get back to normal,” Anderson said. “Definitely, there is more optimism. I think the vaccine has been a real breakthrough.”

He said attendance at St. Rose of Lima’s in-person services has begun creeping back up since the height of the pandemic.

“We have three Masses on Sunday and one on Saturday evening,” Anderson said. “Before the pandemic, all of them were two-thirds full. Now, we’re about half full.”

He said the church follows Archdiocese of St. Louis restrictions, which affect how many people may attend services.

“We abide by the Archdiocese restrictions,” Anderson said. “They ask everyone to wear a mask and that there be sanitizing (at the church). We have social distancing. We have minimal singing. We sing the four hymns of Mass and not any other part of Mass.”

The church also shares one of its weekend services online through the St. Rose of Lima School Facebook page.

First United Methodist Church of Festus-Crystal City

The Rev. Tish Green, pastor of First United Methodist Church of Festus-Crystal City, 113 Grand Ave., in Festus said her congregation returned to indoor, in-person services the weekend of March 6-7 as the numbers of COVID deaths and overall cases continued to decrease.

“We are wearing masks and social distancing. People have to RSVP to worship so we know we’re offering everybody social distancing,” she said.

“Before the COVID pandemic, we had three worship services over the weekend with about 200 people. We reopened with two services and had 78 in-person.”

Green said her church had shared its services online prior to the pandemic, and many church members used that option during the pandemic.

“We took steps to improve the online services,” she said. “When we reopened, we had some new members who had joined online over the year.”

The church “has done well financially” over the pandemic, maintaining its eight-person staff with the help of government assistance, Green said.

“Giving has dropped slightly, but I’ve been encouraged by people’s faithfulness and generosity,” she said.

Green said her congregation is so much more optimistic these days, it plans to add a new staff member.

“We are bringing on a full-time associate pastor in July,” Green said. “We have not had one in about 10 years.”