What is church, and how do you minister to the people of your congregation? Those are questions that pastors have been forced to revisit this year as the COVID-19 pandemic has crawled across the nation, surging in different places at different times.
In Madison, those questions became very personal earlier this fall when The Rev. Randy Hedge at Madison United Methodist Church tested positive for COVID.
"It started out kind of mild and then it got difficult. I developed symptom after symptom after symptom," he said.
He was out for three weeks and still suffered from fatigue after returning to work. During that time, he began to understand intimately the isolation that people in his church and in the community were experiencing.
"I prayed about that while I had COVID and really felt a calling to do more," Hedge said.
Prior to that, he had been aware of the challenges the pandemic placed on the community. Nowhere was that seen more than on Monday nights when the church hosted the Gathering.
"It's not uncommon for us to serve 250 meals on Monday night," he indicated. Prior to COVID, an average week was about half that. "We've had some groups leave us because they couldn't afford the cost."
A drive-thru system is being used now. Even though serving doesn't begin until 5 p.m., some weeks cars start lining up by 2:30 or 3 p.m.
"We're seeing a never-ending line of cars on Monday night," Hedge said, adding that supporting that ministry has become a challenge for the congregation.
In other ways, though, he had felt they were adapting to the challenge posed by the pandemic. When the decision was made not to meet in person, they went online. They also made arrangements to have their service broadcast on KJAM.
"I continue to think about what a blessing it is to have technology," he said, noting that even 10 years ago, it would have been difficult to hold any kind of worship service in a similar situation.
In June, the congregation began to meet in person again, taking precautions such as taping off rows of pews so that people wouldn't use them and dismissing the congregation row by row after worship to prevent congestion at the doorways. An outdoor service was also held for those who didn't feel comfortable meeting indoors.
"We had a flatbed trailer that we had our worship band on, and that's where I preached," Hedge said. It took about an hour to set up, but they did that through September.
"God didn't tell us there was only one place we could worship," he noted.
While the Madison United Methodist Church did hold both traditional and contemporary services indoors for a while, that has again ceased. When the number of COVID cases surged in the state, The Rev. Bruce Ough, bishop of the Dakota Conference of the United Methodist Church, urged congregations to celebrate Advent and Christmas online.
He wrote, "We have the power to help change the trajectory of this pandemic in the Dakotas. Doing no harm, acting for the common good and protecting the most vulnerable among us is how we love our neighbors. We can give rise to the light in the midst of the darkness of this disease."
In responding to the need to lead worship remotely, one of the challenges has been preaching.
"It's really strange," Hedge admitted. However, he's discovered it helps not to focus on the empty sanctuary. "I find that as I preach, I think of people in their living rooms."
"We do the best we can," he added and explained other ways in which the church has attempted to minister since the pandemic has made meeting a health risk. Meetings and Bible studies are held by Zoom. A greater effort is being made to reach out to people by phone.
"We need to be the light," Hedge said. "We need to reach out to people. We need to be creative enough in our faith and strong enough in our faith to find ways to reach out to people."
He knows people are feeling isolated; he experienced that himself. He knows the call to be in church together is great -- especially now when studies show that anxiety and depression have increased.
The church has responded creatively by holding prayer caravans, where members drive around town and pray for people and organizations, such as the hospital, nursing home and schools. They also hold informal prayer services on Facebook Live a couple times each week.
And, at 7:07 daily -- both in the morning and in the evening -- members are encouraged to pray a community prayer asking God for guidance, protection, comfort, healing, calm, strength, courage, hope and joy. The prayer asks for the grace to "allow You to guide us safely through."
"When you have more people praying, we believe, God hears you and takes notice," Hedge said.
Despite these efforts, he admits he has not seen about half of the people in his congregation since the pandemic hit. Those are the ones about whom he worries.
Hedge isn't alone in worrying about members of his congregation. The Rev. Kirby Oaks at Living Hope expressed a similar sentiment when discussing his church's COVID journey.
Smaller than the Methodist congregation prior to COVID, Living Hope has been hard hit by the pandemic. When the church stopped gathering in person in March and went to an online presence, they sought to respond by adapting their service.
"Since we were no longer gathering in person, we tried to create a more intimate setting," Oaks said.
Rather than recording the service in the sanctuary, they recorded it in another space. However, that was not enough to hold some members, who chose to begin worshiping with congregations that had better online services.
"People are not coming back," Oaks noted. "We've seen engagement drop. We've seen giving drop."
His concern is not only for the church itself but also for the individuals who are no longer actively involved. He worries they may not be involved with any faith family.
"The world right now is just crappy," Oaks said, noting the stress and weariness that many are experiencing. "Oftentimes, church can be the safe place when there's a lot of stress, doubts, anguish and frustration."
He pointed out that after 9-11, churches were packed as people sought answers there. Now that isn't a safe option because the pandemic poses a health risk for people who gather indoors.
"How do you minister, serve and love when you don't see people on a weekly basis?" Oaks asked.
Spending time with people, having coffee with them, is next to impossible. Nursing home visits aren't an option. Hospital visits are limited. Some people don't become engaged with online options.
"How do we continue to minister to people and love on people who are weary and tired?" Oaks asked, rephrasing his question.
He knows people are experiencing weariness; he is himself. He knows the pandemic is taking a toll on people's mental health. He is concerned because in these difficult times, church cannot be a refuge for people.
"Right now, it is a question of the practice of faith. How is my faith affected by all this?" he said.
He is concerned because he is not able to make connections with people as they struggle. However, despite his concerns, he does have hope.
"My hope is they are connected somewhere and growing in their faith," Oaks said.
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