The ground is shifting as churches and other faith groups in Franklin County and the North Quabbin area react to news of the coronavirus pandemic. Some religious institutions are continuing with regular services, with nods to social distancing, but other scheduled events are being canceled.
On a regional level, The Southern New England Conference UCC is recommending that churches not gather for at least the next two Sundays; however, most UCC churches are assessing their options.
Bishop Mitchell Rozanski of the Springfield Roman Catholic Diocese issued an updated directive late Friday saying that all Masses and other activities are suspended in all parishes until further notice.
“I would strongly urge parishioners to view our televised Mass, the Chalice of Salvation, which airs on WWLP 22 Sunday at 10 a.m.,” the directive reads. “And there will be two live-streamed Masses, Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m., via a link at www.stagnescc.com.”
This situation is very fluid. Here is a roundup as of Friday at noon:
The Rev. Judy Jones said, “At this moment, Orange United Methodist and South Athol United Methodist will continue to have Sunday morning services with precautions taken. However, I continue to monitor the situation and may make adjustments.”
The Rev. Jim Ewen of the Central Congregational Church of New Salem said, “We still plan to gather in New Salem this Sunday and then reassess on a week-to-week basis.”
The Athol Orange Baptist Church will hold its service Sunday but said it is “watching and monitoring the situation.”
The Rev. Dr. Megan Leary reports, “Worship at Central Congregational Church of Orange on March 15 and 22 is canceled. The Cellar Closet will be closed March 14 and 21, and no clothing donations will be accepted during this period, and the corned beef and cabbage dinner scheduled for March 21 will be rescheduled.”
The Leadership Council of the Athol Congregational Church states that the church will be closed until further notice. After April 15, the council will re-evaluate. There will be no regular church meetings, no community meals or other gatherings until after the April 15 re-evaluation.
Pastor Don Lebel reports that Crossroads Church 92 New Athol Road in Orange, will be open for its regular Sunday service at 10:45 a.m.
The Rev. Marguerite Sheehan, pastor of Trinity Church in Shelburne Falls, said Sunday services will happen, but “We’ll be continuing conversation with church folks about next steps.”
However, Sheehan said a West County soup-and-bread ecumenical Lenten event scheduled March 24 has been cancelled.
“This kind of event can be what people need to do and want to do, but it didn’t seem right to do in relation to coronavirus infection control,” she said.
In Colrain, Pastor Jim Rennie responded, “No, definitely not at this time,” to a query about whether church would be canceled.
The Charlemont Federated Church reports it is continuing to hold services as scheduled and taking precautions as per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to keep everyone healthy.
In Ashfield, The First Congregational Church of Ashfield is continuing to gather and hold its weekly Sunday worship services at 10 a.m., as well as its study groups and meetings. Maple Fest, March 21, is still on as well. The April 4 Women’s Retreat has been postponed.
St. John’s Episcopal Church in Ashfield is suspending services for two weeks, per a directive from Episcopal Bishop Douglas Fisher.
First Congregational Church of Shelburne, UCC has decided to cancel worship services until further notice. Interim Pastor Rob Gormbley said, “We will be reviewing and monitoring this situation on a weekly bases.”
The Rev. Heather Blais, rector of the Episcopal Church of Saints James and Andrew, said, “We have decided to suspend public worship for two weeks, and then re-evaluate. For the next two weeks, we will offer our worship on Facebook Live. Following Facebook Live worship, we will gather on Zoom for a virtual coffee hour. All special or monthly events will be canceled or rescheduled.”
The Rev. Dr. Susan Tarolli of Second Congregational Church reports, “For the time being, we will continue to gather for worship on Sunday mornings, but we will postpone the neighborhood potlucks and other non-essential, large church gatherings.”
Jeffrey Galbraith reports that St. Paul’s Lutheran Church will hold its regularly scheduled service on Sunday.
Kirsten Levitt, clerk of the board of All Souls Church, said: “All Souls is continuing to gather. We will be taking the precautions of washing hands, sanitizing commonly touched objects often, and asking folks to stay home if they are feeling unwell.”
Rabbi Andrea Cohen-Kiener said, “We at Temple Israel are hosting events at which we can practice social distancing. Most services and smaller classes and meetings will continue for now.”
Pastor Joe Choon said, “We at the First United Methodist Church of Greenfield will be having our 10 a.m. Sunday worship this week.”
Robert Doty, president of the Greenfield Branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, shared a directive from Salt Lake City stating, “Beginning immediately, all public gatherings of church members are being temporarily suspended worldwide until further notice.”
Pastor Brett Reitenbach of Greenfield Baptist Church reports, “We currently have no plans to cancel services.”
Rev. David Levandusky of Living Waters Assembly of God said, “We will not be canceling our services. We will be sharing with all our members how to manage the situation from a health perspective.”
Pastor Jason Beaman of Greenfield Alliance Church said they “will continue to meet unless mandated otherwise. We realize the situation is fluid and may change, so we will continue monitoring the situation and comply with federal, state and local authorities. As precautionary measures, we will discontinue communion and greeting times until further notice, practice social distancing, eliminate snack time in our children’s ministries and have doubled our disinfecting efforts. In the event that authorities mandate a ceasing of public events, sermons will be pre-recorded and put on our website as normal.”
The First Congregational Church of Montague will be suspending Sunday services for the next two weeks. Also canceled will be the pancake breakfast March 21 and the soup luncheon March 24. The sugar on snow supper on March 28 will be postponed to a later date.
St. Patrick’s Church in Northfield has postponed its corned beef and cabbage dinner set for Saturday at 5 p.m.
Martha Morse, speaking for the Trinitarian Congregational Church in Northfield, said, “We have not yet cancelled any Sunday morning worship service. We are assessing the situation on a week-to-week basis.”
Face-to-face services at First Parish of Northfield, Unitarian, are suspended until further notice. “We will use an online video conferencing platform to meet over the internet this Sunday.”
In Warwick, the Rev. Dan Dibble said the Trinitarian Congregational Church will continue holding worship services for the foreseeable future. However, both the St. Patrick’s Supper and The Green Sisters concert scheduled for March 21 have been canceled.
Annette Mackin reports that Bernardston Unitarians will postpone its service on Sunday with guest speaker Kevin McVeigh. Resumption of services will be posted on bernardstonunitarian.org.
Fr. Jon Reardon of Holy Family in South Deerfield reports that the March 20 Live Presentation of the Stations of the Cross, performed by the Mystery Players, is canceled.
In Conway, the Rev. Dr. Candi Ashenden said the United Congregational Church of Conway will be gathering Sunday at the Conway Fire Station, as no public groups are currently allowed to meet in Union 38 schools, where the church has been meeting.
“We will be discussing what procedures we will follow moving forward as this situation evolves,” Ashenden said.
Rev. Mark Brussel said “the Shutesbury Community Church will continue to meet for now but I am urging anyone who is ill to stay at home, and that all refrain from shaking hands in church.”
Pastor Michael Grant reports that “Moores Corner Church in Leverett will continue to assemble, although we will refrain from shaking hands.” Sunday’s sermon will be on the subject of coronavirus in light of the sovereignty of God: How should Christians respond?
In South Deerfield, the Rev. Fr. Robert Koerber said Holy Name of Jesus PNC Church is continuing to hold Sunday services and has taken steps to minimize any exposure to the virus.
The Rev. Liza Knapp said at The First Church of Deerfield, “our plan for Sunday is to practice social distancing during worship. We have made changes to parts of the service to make this possible.”