RELIGION
Old congregations learn new digital tricks (because of COVID) did not single-handedly lower attendance and participation in worship services and related ministries; it exacerbated trends that have long been tracking downward.” One major pivot for every faith community which responded to questions for this article was to increase their use of online services. Good Shepherd Lutheran Church spent just short of $20,000 on equipment, including two cameras, three computers, two monitors and switchboxes. Rabbi Yitzchok Bergstein at the Chabad Center said that from a traditional Jewish perspective, “we don’t turn on any electronics on the Sabbath or on holidays” but that they have used zoom for meetings.
By Tom Holmes Contributor
T
he COVID pandemic disrupted life for the religious communities in Oak Park and River Forest as well as for the rest of society, especially when meeting in person became impossible, but many area churches and synagogues responded to the crisis with digital creativity. Emily Gage, one of the ministers at Unity Temple, summed up the past two years by saying, “It’s been a series of seemingly endless pivots around how we do pretty much everything.” Fr. Carl Morello, Pastor of the combined St. Giles and St. Catherine/St. Lucy Parish, reported, “One of the biggest changes since covid is the number of folks attending mass. We were at 1,100 and now see about half that on a good Sunday since the mask wearing was lifted or made optional.” All of the congregations in town stopped holding in-person worship for a time. Regarding Gage’s “pretty much everything,” Rev. Marti Scott, pastor of Euclid Ave. United Methodist Church in Oak Park, put at the top of her list of losses during the lockdown the “inability to embrace one another, especially in times of sorrow and loss.” Rev. David Lyle, senior pastor
Carl Morello
David Lyle
Emily Gage
Gerald Hiestand
Rabbi Yitzchok Bergstein
Marti Scott
of Grace Lutheran in River Forest, said that attendance dropped before and after the complete lock down, but he said that the virus was
Glass half full/half empty
not the only cause. Worship attendance in many if not most congregations had been declining for decades. He explained, “The pandemic
Local clergy reported that many good things have happened because they’ve gone online. Rev. Gerald Hiestand, the pastor of Calvary Memorial Church said, “We began streaming for the first time during the pandemic, and we are grateful for how it allowed our congregation to stay connected during a difficult season. The quality of our stream has improved considerably since that time, and our elderly shut ins, who are no longer able to attend church, are very grateful to have a way of connecting to our church.” RELIGION, continued on page 88
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