While some churches are pushing for a possible reopening in June, others believe that may be wishful thinking given the current COVID-19 health crisis.
A petition asking the provincial government to consider reopening churches next month has been signed by more than 400 churches in Ontario, including five places of worship in Barrie.
The petition's organizers say they want to work with the province to reopen of churches, which they say are "a vital service for the people" of Ontario. It was sent May 11 to provincial government officials, including Premier Doug Ford. Petition organizers have asked for a response by Friday, May 29.
If churches reopen, the group says precautions would be taken in line with government guidelines, such as limiting access to approximately 40 per cent of a building's capacity and wiping down surfaces.
Todd Dugard, lead pastor at Harvest Bible Chapel Barrie on George Street, told BarrieToday he thinks a June reopening is unlikely.
"We fully believe it's going to be a stepped-up approach," Dugard said, as far as the number of people allowed in the building. "We need to see a number of 250 or more to justify reopening for Sunday, anyway."
Dugard said his church is "well down the road" with their five-stage plan for reopening, all of which is dependent on provincial direction. In the meantime, online services will continue.
"We're making plans cautiously, so we're expecting September," he added. "I'm not expecting we're back together for the summer."
Although Harvest Bible Chapel Barrie shares a similar name to one of the petition organizers, they are independent of each other.
"I talk to Aaron (Rock) all the time, but he and I, we just land in a different place on this," said Dugard, who places churches in the same category as things such as sporting events when it comes to reopening and bringing large groups of people together again. "It's different than going to Costco or something."
Dugard said he was offered a chance to sign the letter, but chose not to. He said the signatories represent around 400 churches in Ontario, while there are "thousands and thousands" of others that may have a different point of view. That's the category Dugard says he falls into.
"I have a very different perspective on how we ought to be functioning in our communities right now, given the situation," he said. "As bible teachers, we talk about the law of love. The most loving thing to do right now is to be making sure our congregants, our community, are kept safe from the pandemic."
Whenever churches do reopen, it will still have a significant effect on the local congregation.
"Our church is warm, friendly, engaging. We hug each other, we high-five," Dugard said. "And that's going to be hard on our people when we come back and there's physical distancing in place that will cause us to be not as engaging as we once were.
"I'm not in a rush to get back and put people in harm's way."
Dugard says he doesn't want to see a situation where people begin gathering together again in larger groups, someone tests COVID-positive, and they have to shut down.
"Beyond that, I've just put people at risk unnecessarily at this point (if we reopened)," he said. "Until the province gives the green light, we're supportive of Premier Ford and what he's leading us through right now. We're supportive of the efforts of the medical officers of health and the advisors to government and what the government has been saying.
"We just feel like the biblical mandate to honour those who are in government, our governing authorities, is still preeminent, that the law of love of still preeminent and that there should be no rush to return to in-person worship."
Dugard says he wouldn't want to become a negative news story in June where problems would potentially arise from opening and people becoming sick.
"I don't want our church in the news for all the wrong reasons," he said.
The sentiment is the same at Ferris Lane Community Church, where pastor Mark Coulter says they "are deeply concerned with protecting our people and protecting our parish."
Coulter wants to heed the advice from public health officials before making any moves forward.
“We as a church will open up when we’re 100 per cent confident ... (and) when we feel we are 100 per cent safe," Coulter said. "There are some things we do at church that could be concerns for spreading this virus: singing, shaking hands, hugging and standing in close proximity with people.
“We have people of all ages at our church and we will not risk those in the vulnerable society just to be inside the doors," he added. "Our online service and weekly events are working well and keeping folks connected.”
In the meantime, Dugard says Harvest Bible Chapel Barrie will continue with virtual services. While using technology hasn't been perfect, it has been "very effective." Small groups continue to meet and people have been able to donate to the church online, he added. Prior to the pandemic, 80 per cent of the offering was already originating online, Dugard said.
From YouTube to Facebook Live and other online platforms, Dugard said there are numerous options available to churches to keep things functioning as close to normal as possible. Many were already offering online services before COVID-19.
"We had to pivot hard because we weren't (previously) doing livestream services, but our staff responded to that," he said, adding they've able to re-create, as best they can, the same experience as being at the church, including a "live lobby" feature.
Earlier this week, the province announced it was allowing drive-in religious gatherings as part of its framework to reopen the economy. Conditions include keeping vehicles at least two metres apart; that only members of the same household be in one vehicle; that people do not leave their vehicles; and no more than five people can conduct the service at one time. This could allow services to be held in a parking lot or a field.
To read more about the petition, click here.
