Anglican Church reports attendance at in-person services not back to pre-COVID levels

With persons attending face-to-face services not yet back to pre-COVID-19 levels, the Anglican Church will be doing what is necessary to ensure overall membership remains strong.

Speaking at the recent launch of the Diocesan book Ministry During the COVID-19 Pandemic, at the Diocesan Office, Church Hill, Christ Church, Bishop Michael Maxwell said that even though parishioners were gradually returning for in-person worship, “we have to face the reality that we are not going to immediately get those big numbers if we are going to get them back at all”.

“Basically, we are going to be facing that reality that our numbers may not increase immediately even though we are going back to some level of normalcy in terms of possibly now being able to worship without masks,” he said.

“We believe that some persons have already made up their minds that they prefer to be in the comfort of their homes to stream. We will still, of course, seek to encourage that the fellowship that we gain coming together as a community is still important but we will recognise, I believe, that we still have to continue an online presence.”

Noting that the number of people who attended services when they were only streaming online was greater than those attending church pre-COVID, Bishop Maxwell said many Anglican churches were equipped with the necessary technology and Internet connectivity to stream their services.

Reverend Dr Monrelle Williams, Priest in Charge of St Barnabas Church, said he believes that the days of churches being packed to capacity are gone.

He said all efforts must be made to reach those who will not return to church.

“We have got to find the way to effectively minister within that limited context of ministry now as we head into this post-pandemic period. How are we going to still be church in-person and online and how are we going to make that effective in the context in which we find ourselves? We have to find a way to get it done,” Dr Williams said.

He added that COVID-19 has made it clear that church is not all about the physical structure but that the focus should be on reaching people where they are and taking the ministry to them.

Dr Williams said the “streaming ministry” allows worshippers to sit in their homes and view their own church service and review the recording of another worship session later.

“It has expanded the Ministry of our churches in a way in which we never thought of in the past. It has given us a greater depth and a greater width in terms of what we can do and what we can share as churches,” he said.

The 120-page Ministry During the COVID-19 Pandemic, which includes testimonies recorded on ministry during the pandemic, offers helpful insights into how members of the “body of Christ” have coped with COVID-19. Members of the clergy and other religious leaders shared experiences on how they responded to the pandemic which significantly impacted the traditional way of worship.

Reverend Dr Sonia Hinds, one of the editors of the publication, said 600 copies of the book have been printed and can be purchased for $25 at any of the Anglican churches across the island or at several bookstores.

“What you are getting from this book is an opportunity to read how the church responded during the pandemic. The contributors would have made their contributions maybe six months ago, during that period when we were still meeting with small congregation numbers and so on. What it did, it gave an opportunity to the contributors to reflect on their own ministry in their own context. As you read the book you would see that persons responded differently,” she said. (AH)