Alabamians will have at least a couple more Sundays before returning to worship services on church campuses.
Governor Kay Ivey’s new public health order, which goes into effect at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, continues the prohibition on all non-work gatherings of 10 persons or more where six feet of space cannot be maintained. Her “Safer at Home” order will remain in effect until May 15.
As recently as Friday, State Public Health Officer Scott Harris had maintained that Ivey’s administration would follow White House guidance on reopening. In spite of not meeting all of the White House’s criteria for entering the first phase of reopening, Harris and Ivey chose to move forward by reopening some non-essential businesses and permitting elective surgeries, which are included in President Donald Trump’s “Phase One” of reopening.
Ivey and Harris chose not to proceed with the reopening of church services, which is similarly a part of Trump’s first phase with strict social distancing guidelines.
Jay Wolf, a revered faith leader and pastor at First Baptist Church-Montgomery, explained the decision.
“We are recommending that Alabama follow the guidelines of the White House and the CDC and affirm that in-person corporate gatherings and in-person small groups are not currently advisable,” Wolf outlined at Tuesday’s press conference. “At this time, Alabama does not meet the criteria proposed by the CDC for reopening houses of worship for large in-person gatherings. Reopening our places of worship will be a process, not an event. According to the CDC, as the number of infections go down, then the number of people who can safely gather will go up.”
Ivey has tapped Wolf to lead an informal task force to gather information from various members of the faith community from across the state.
Wolf confirmed there would be operating guidelines for churches set out in the same manner as other permissible activities.
“As we prepare to reopen places of worship, in the future, it will be based on the standards specified by Alabama’s public health officials,” he said. “You are encouraged to consider and follow the guidelines that are a helpful game plan designed to assist your congregation to prepare for a safe reopening in the coming days.”
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State Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Trussville) recently told Yellowhammer News that he hopes one guiding principle is applied to whatever guidelines come down from the state.
“One size does not fit all,” he said.
Garrett chaired Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth’s subcommittee on reopening Alabama’s economy and is a deacon at First Baptist Church-Trussville. He believes a hard limit to the number of people who can attend worship services is probably not a good solution. He has seen research indicating that a large majority of the churches in the state of Alabama have less than 200 members.
For small churches, a numerical limit may not affect how they worship.
“If you say you can only have 50 people, that may be more than they have for a service anyway,” Garrett pointed out.
He also thinks each denomination will have to offer their own solutions based upon specific worship practices.
That is why he hopes guidelines for worship are tailored to meet the needs of individual congregations.
“I think you cannot look at it and say churches have to do ‘this,’” Garrett said.
The Georgia Baptist Mission Board has compiled an extensive list of practices and guidelines for its churches to follow.
Recommendations include removing Bibles, hymnals, pens and information cards from pews, not passing microphones on stage, not handing out bulletins, adding more services, not serving coffee and deciding whether restrooms should be open or closed.
“Getting back to these services must be done with very much concern,” Ivey said while announcing her new order on Tuesday.
In the meantime, Wolf encouraged churches to continue staying connected with people, while outlining the mission of his task force.
“We simply want to honor the Lord, help and protect God’s people and do what is right and responsible,” he said.
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Tim Howe is an owner of Yellowhammer Multimedia
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