Today in the Mission Yearbook - Presbyterian co-pastors ‘fill the church’ with members’ photographs during livestreamed services

Worship, prayer — and yes, committee meetings — are all doable via videoconference

July 27, 2020

If people can’t join for in-person worship at First Presbyterian Church in Yorktown, New York, at least their pictures can. (Photo courtesy of First Presbyterian Church)

There’s no need to have an empty church on Sunday mornings, even in the midst of coronavirus social distancing directives.

Co-pastors Tami Seidel and Chip Low of First Presbyterian Church of Yorktown, New York, aren’t encouraging disobedience to stay-at-home orders. Rather, they’ve placed photos of church members in the pews for them to look out on as they offer livestreamed Sunday morning services from the church sanctuary.

Tami was inspired by a social media post from a Catholic priest who had done the same for his virtual services. The husband-and-wife team sent a note to congregation members two weeks ago requesting pictures and were able to “fill the pews” with many people’s printed images in their familiar places on Sunday, March 29.

“Even though people weren’t physically in the building, in some ways it was like everyone was present,” Seidel said. “Being able to look out on the church and see their photos was a really powerful experience. I knew it would be meaningful, but I wasn’t prepared for how much it meant for me to see them.”

Low agreed, adding that the congregation responded quickly and creatively to the request for photographs. Some sent individual images, others with their family and pets. One couple even sent in a photo of themselves wearing their favorite “Star Wars” T-shirts. For those unable to take and send a picture quickly, a recent photo from the church directory was printed and put up.

As the church adjusts to ministry under the gathering restrictions put in place to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Low and Seidel said they’re fortunate that the mechanism for broadcasting their services was already in place. Although March 22 was the first Sunday the church “met” without a congregation present in the sanctuary, it has been livestreaming services for more than two years.

But other ways of reaching out and being a faith community have changed. Visits to care centers and hospitals are no longer possible. And the weekly connections made in church and during social times simply aren’t possible. Still, the co-pastors said the adaptations to these challenges have had a positive effect on church members, activating them in outreach and providing opportunities to serve in new ways.

“Our elders and deacons have each been assigned a neighborhood of other members to be in touch with,” Low said. “They call and check in on them — some are isolated or living alone. It’s about more than a check-in or seeing how people are doing. We are encouraging callers to have real and meaningful conversations, to spend some time and get to know the people they are calling.”

It’s also an opportunity to revive what some people saw as dated practices, like the prayer chain calling list, Seidel said.

“Of course, we want to know what people need — groceries, medicine, other errands or supplies,” she said. “But we also want to hear prayer requests and be able to keep track of how people are doing.”

To that end, the church has set up an online shared document where callers can enter these requests after each call. That enables the church to rally resources and consistently respond to physical and spiritual requests.

Although a very small group gathers to livestream Sunday morning services — including the co-pastors, a musician and the technical director — they’re adhering to distancing practices even in this setting. For other church business, the congregation is utilizing Zoom to conduct online events.

“We haven’t missed a committee meeting yet,” Low said, chuckling. “The session and other groups are committed to continuing the ministry of this church during the shutdown and beyond by whatever means necessary.”

They both feel the church has an important role to play in continuing to provide these connections, and to offer hope, even as dire news dominates the headlines and people in their community are being affected by the coronavirus.

“We have several medical workers in our congregation — whether in hospitals or care facilities, or other first responders — who need our prayers, gratitude and care right now,” Seidel said.

Gregg Brekke, Award-Winning Freelance Writer, Editor, Photographer and Videographer for the Presbyterian Foundation

Let us join in prayer for:   

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff

Alonzo Johnson, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Carlton Johnson, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray:

Lord, we praise you, for you are the One who calls things into being that once were not. Bless those who step out in faith and create ways to minister around your world. Help each of us to look for ways to alleviate the burdens of life. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - In spite of COVID-19, ministry to homeless population continues at First Presbyterian Church of San Diego

One guest: ‘They’re always here for me’

July 12, 2020

The homeless community in San Diego is accustomed to coming to First Presbyterian Church in each Sunday for a hot meal, as shown here in a photo from September 2019. Currently, the church is ministering by distributing boxed meals. (Photo by Gregg Brekke)

It’s anything but business as usual for guests and staff at the Ladle Fellowship, the homeless outreach ministry of First Presbyterian Church in San Diego. As cases of COVID-19 increase across the nation, volunteers and church staff are continuing to serve their neighbors in need.

The ministry, which feeds 200 to 300 people on Sunday afternoons and offers a Wednesday evening meal and Bible study, has had to change its approach to serving guests as precautionary measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

“Instead of sit-down meals in the dining room, we’ve been distributing hot lunches. Same hour, same place — but outdoors,” said the Rev. Dr. Jerry Andrews, First Presbyterian Church’s senior pastor. “We’re encouraging safe distancing of people.”

Along with having guests move to safer spaces, they’re wrapping each meal in a printed devotion and distributing disinfectant wipes and drinks as part of the meal service. Although most volunteer groups have made the difficult decision not to send their people to assist with meals, Andrews says the ministry’s staff is able to provide the carry-out meals without the additional support.

The Presbyterian Foundation completed a video telling the story of First Presbyterian’s ministry with the homeless, which you can view here. The video was completed before the pandemic.

What has changed is the many ways the ministry worked one-on-one with guests — praying with them, offering haircuts and basic medical services — all have all been curtailed in light of safe distancing guidelines.

“Our new model doesn’t take as much labor,” Andrews said. “They’re still giving us their prayer concerns and we’re praying for them. What hasn’t changed is how our homeless neighbors are always asking for prayer for their friends, often not themselves, who are in greater need.

“For the most part, our homeless neighbors are expressing gratitude, but they’re frightened.”

John Savidge, director of the Ladle Fellowship, said medical services are still being provided in neighborhoods and parks, doing triage work for injured people and looking for those who may be sick with the flu or COVID-19 symptoms. And the church continues to operate its food pantry utilizing pre-packaged foods and updated sanitization practices.

Nationally, advocates for unhoused people are concerned that even in the absence of the coronavirus pandemic, the homeless population is two times more likely to be hospitalized in a given year, up to four times as likely to require critical care, and three times as likely to die from a hospitalization event than housed populations. Add to this a higher likelihood of pre-existing conditions and barriers to care, and it’s a crisis waiting to happen, according to Dr. Bechara Choucair, chief health officer at the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. and Hospitals.

“In reality, allowing people to live on the streets unsheltered in poor condition is not the right thing to do for our fellow human beings,” he said. “It’s is a threat to us all because it will allow the virus to continue to spread in the community while the rest of us are sheltering in place.”

San Diego city and county officials have been at work on a plan to provide greater social distancing for those who had been staying at the region’s shelters. Plans are under way to convert the San Diego Convention Center to a homeless shelter with greater room for social distancing in addition to providing many of the city’s unused hotel rooms for those who are in the greatest risk categories or in need of isolation.

Despite the drastic change to how the ministry operates, along with moving First Presbyterian Church’s services all online, Andrews sees a ray of hope in how the crisis has motivated people to care for the unhoused population in San Diego.

“What the county and city are doing for the homeless community is good, better than it’s been in the 10 years I’ve been looking at it,” he said. “[What we’re continuing to do] doesn’t make us heroic; we will be as wise as serpents and gentle as doves in caring for our homeless neighbors and our staff.

“But it’s impossible to look someone in the eye and tell them to stay at home when they don’t have one.”

 Gregg Brekke, Award-Winning Freelance Writer, Editor, Photographer and Videographer, originally written for the Presbyterian Foundation

Let us join in prayer for: 

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff

Brian Henson, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
Gil Herbig, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)

Let us pray:

Lord, you have put us into ministry with each other and connected us through our faith. Open our eyes to the potential of our relationships and lead us into new directions. Amen.