News Photos by Darby Hinkley Above, Grace Lutheran Pastor Tom Orth talks about how worship has changed since the pandemic began, while standing in front of the ornate altar in the sanctuary.

ALPENA — Pastor Tom Orth had never even thought about offering online services prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, he’s getting good at it, and possibly even enjoying it.

Orth is one of many church leaders in Alpena who were thrown into a new way of thinking, worshipping and connecting when the pandemic hit and the governor ordered us all to stay home in mid-March. Now, more than five months later, we check in with some pastors to see how their congregations have been coping with the new and different church life, be it mostly from the comfort of their own couches.

“The lack of community has been, for some, a difficulty,” Orth said.

Others just can’t deal with the rigidity of all the in-person rules.

He said one couple came to services in the socially distanced sanctuary, and told him, “We can’t worship like this, without being able to shake hands and touch people.”

Orth sits in the sanctuary next to a sign indicating that a family of one or two people should be seated there to maintain the six-foot distancing from other parties. Two pews are roped off in between pews to maintain proper distancing.

Orth said they then switched to watching services online, and remained active in the adult classes.

In-person services have been offered since June at Grace, with sections roped off to provide for distancing between households. Although about 50 people could still fit in the sanctuary with the distancing, Orth said overflow has unfortunately not been a problem.

“We are worshipping about a third as many people as we were before the pandemic,” Orth said.

Prior to the pandemic starting, he said 100 people would come out over the weekend, in combined attendance to the Saturday and Sunday services.

“Some people are still not comfortable being out in groups,” Orth said. “And, of course, churches today are an older population that have more vulnerabilities.”

Bulletins and newsletters are either mailed or emailed weekly, with 30-some hard copies going out in the mail, representing about 15% of the membership without internet access. He said a large portion of the church receives correspondence via email. Church leaders have called those who lack email access as well.

Over at First Congregational United Church of Christ, the Rev. Paul Lance said they send out letters and bulletins twice a month that allow people to follow along with services which are prerecorded and posted online.

“We’ve had very strong support for that because they said it feels much more personal,” Lance said. “They feel like they’re in the church because they see the sanctuary and the lay reader stands where he or she would always be. They can follow along with the songs.”

He said it’s a new way to worship, but people are getting comfortable with it.

“So they can watch it on the website, and what people have said is that, because the camera is right there and I’m preaching into the camera, they feel like you’re talking just to us at home,” Lance said. “They’ve got their bare feet, they’ve got a cup of coffee there, in their pajamas maybe, they’re sitting and snuggling on the couch. It’s like a totally different experience. Because it’s in their house, it’s in their home, it’s in their face.”

He said applying new technology was a challenge at first, but it’s getting much easier now.

“It’s something new,” he said. “It’s all different, but we’ve been doing it now for five or six months, so it’s becoming habitual. We know what we’re doing now.”

First Congregational is not having indoor services at this time, but they have, for the last few weeks, offered outdoor services at 10 a.m. on Sundays, weather permitting. This past Sunday, 40 people attended the outdoor service, Lance said. The church membership is 145.

“People have really enjoyed seeing each other again,” Lance said. “They just missed it. Even though we’re all wearing masks … at least we’re there, waving around and talking to each other outdoors … So that’s really been an enhancement the last two weeks.”

He said gathering together has lifted their spirits during this often depressing time.

“Getting out, getting together with people, being stimulated, singing a familiar song, just makes them feel like life is coming back to, not the old normal, exactly, it’s a different normal. But they love being able to get back together and see each other physically.”

Lance has been teaching five classes per week via Zoom, a platform he became acquainted with once faced with the shutdown. He said a handful of people who do not have internet connections come to his classes in-person, where they sit at a distance and wear masks.

Like many churches in Alpena, most of its members are older and in the at-risk population, so leaders have made decisions based on what is best for the health and safety of its congregation. There are 27 churches in Alpena, Lance added.

At Trinity Episcopal Church, the Very Rev. Bill McClure said they held a few services, then shut back down after the governor limited gatherings to 10 or fewer. He said while churches may be exempt from that limitation, the church leadership, as advised by the Episcopal Dioceses, determined that it would be prudent to remain shuttered at this time.

“We do not have a good campus for outdoor worship,” he said.

McClure has been livestreaming services on Facebook and YouTube.

Bulletins are sent out via mail to those without internet access, or via email for those with access. The church has calling trees in which members call others on a regular basis to check in.

Trinity’s average Sunday attendance is 66, he said.

In lieu of in-person services, McClure said, “It’s easier for us to do web conferencing via Zoom. Because we exclude less people that way.”

They will be meeting in a few weeks to determine when they may reopen the sanctuary.

McClure said, “Right now, we’re just playing it safe.”