May 13, 2020
Virtual worship
Around Town
Churches around St. Louis County have moved worship services online while continuing to serve the wider community
COMMUNITY VOICES By Angela Clabon. Pg. 2 Information on COVID-19. Pg.3-6
By Charlotte Beard While some local church congregations have not been able to remain connected to one another due to the social distancing measures of the COVID-19 crisis, other churches have found a way to leverage technology to maintain some measure of unity. In addition, these churches have aimed to maintain their relevance and mission in serving the community within and outside of its brick and mortar buildings. Pastor Monica Jefferson of Saint Andrew United Methodist Church in Florissant shared that the church increased its technical needs to accommodate the self-distancing measures. Saint Andrew’s Stephen Ministers have been vital in connecting other church members that may have difficulty in accessing technology for viewing services. The Stephen Minister assists those members in getting connected to listen to pre-recorded services by phone. “My major surprise in this (pandemic) is the willingness of people to do things remotely or virtually,” stated Jefferson. “It has really increased people’s interest in studying and learning in Bible study.” Jefferson shared that the pre-existing eight study groups have remained active and transitioned to live online, which includes a pre-existing group for grief support. “Our format is Go To Meeting,” she stated. “We had that already in place and have been using that now for about two years for meetings with the leadership, etc. We just added licenses to be able to continue that with myself and my associate pastor. We have been able to continue that connection, which is especially important during this time beyond worship.” The church has two Sunday morning services; the 8 a.m. one is streamed via Facebook Live. As has been customary pre-pandemic, the 10:45 a.m. service is a pre-recording
School New chancellor named at University of Missouri-St. Louis. Pg. 7
Special Section Support Local Restaurants. Pg. 8-10
Features
Submitted photo Pastor Cedric Portis (right) of Third Presbyterian Church in Moline Acres delivers surgical masks donated by his congregation to Crystal Creek Rehabilitation Center Manager Tasanya Johnson.
of the first service and is made available to visitors of their website: http://www.saintandrewumc.net. In addition, an audio version of the pre-recorded sermon is available via SoundCloud on the website. Jefferson expressed that though the transition required the church address some technical needs, the need for adjustments to using technology overall within the congregation was not as great as it might have been in some other churches. “It’s a 55-year-old congregation,” she stated, “so they tend to be a little bit more into the technology than maybe a church that’s been around a lot longer. We have reached new people who may have (never) found us or if we did not make ourselves available to witness to them. We are in phase one of our reopening plan.” The pastor stated that in June the church will reopen with the 8 a.m. worship service
only; other online provisions will remain in place for the duration. The church is also determining a plan for resuming its various services to the community, including previous distribution of food and in-person care ministry that involved Saint Andrew’s Stephen Ministers. When asked about the financial impact of the pandemic on members of her congregation, Jefferson stated, “We’re working people. We are not wealthy people (but) thank God for the generosity of my congregation; we have been able to help a few. I have a wonderful ministry called Pastor’s Contingency. Folks have been giving to that (for) years. We have had to supplement a few things for some folks – income, food, gas, etc. Nothing major – but we would figure it out if somebody needed a mortgage payment or a rent See ‘WORSHIP’ page 2
Serving North & Northwest St. Louis County | FREE Online at mycnews.com | Vol. 99 No. 20 | 636-379-1775
Recipe, Movie & Sudoku. Pg. F-1 CLASSIFIEDS AND HOME & GARDEN. Pg. F-2 /F-3 Moore On Life, Yeggs & Crossword Puzzle. Pg. F-4
Weather FRIDAY Thunderstorms 76/66 SATURDAY Thunderstorms 78/65 SUNDAY Scattered Thunderstorms 76/59