People who squeezed into last year’s Christmas Eve Mass at Burlington’s Cathedral of St. Joseph — mother church of the state’s largest religious denomination, the Vermont Roman Catholic Diocese — rubbed elbows with hundreds singing the full-throated praises of the faith’s most attended holiday.
This December, that seems historic — and horrific.
Covid-19 precautions are changing yuletide services at houses of worship statewide, from crowd reductions and choir restrictions at the Burlington cathedral to a switch to online offerings at smaller congregations as far south as Brattleboro.
Gov. Phil Scott, originally prohibiting large gatherings at the start of the pandemic, now is allowing religious facilities to operate if they follow mandatory health and safety guidance and limit attendance to 50% of fire safety occupancy or one person per 100 square feet.
Vermont’s Catholic churches — with 118,000 members in 72 parishes — were the first in the state to resume in-person services while retaining a daily broadcast Mass. Attendees must be healthy, wear masks, sanitize their hands, sit 6 feet apart in designated pews and, if required, register in advance.
“Parishes are strongly urged to consider a reservation or ticketing system that utilizes both paper and online methods of signing up for Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day in order to avoid turning people away at the door when capacity is reached,” the diocese has told churches in a set of internal guidelines.
Although the season is known for carols and hymns, Catholic churches will decrease the risk of viral spread by limiting music to one singer and such non-wind accompaniment as an organ, piano or guitar.
“I’m still getting emails from people saying, ‘Can we just have one trumpet or a few in the choir?’” Vermont Catholic Bishop Christopher Coyne says. “But the only reason why we’re able to stay open is because we are abiding by the protocols and keeping safe.”
The Vermont Conference of the United Church of Christ, the second-largest denomination with 14,000 members in 135 congregations, is allowing individual churches to decide whether to open — all while recommending they opt for online services.
“In light of the growing number of Covid-19 infections in Vermont, increased hospitalizations, the onset of flu season, the potential spreading of the disease during holiday gatherings and the advice of our governor and experts, I strongly urge that worship not be held in person at least through the end of this year,” the Rev. Lynn Bujnak, conference minister, has written in a public letter.
United Church of Christ leaders have seen some congregations safely hold indoor or outdoor services with masks and 6-foot physical distancing and without commonly touched items such as Bibles and hymnals. But they note a majority of members are at a higher risk because of their age or overall health.
“People are weary from the constraints resulting from the disease and are becoming less careful about wearing masks, social distancing, and not coming into contact with those beyond our ‘pod’ or family,” Bujnak has written. “It is those whom we might infect and who will not be able to fight off the virus that we need to keep in mind.”
The Vermont District of the United Methodist Church, the third-largest denomination with 8,200 members in 115 congregations, is encouraging online services or, if in person, better screening and signing-in of people after a Covid-19 outbreak at one of its Maine parishes.
“The recommendations of 6 feet of separation and no more than 15 minutes of close contact are guidelines, not a guarantee that there will be no spread of the virus,” Methodist leaders said in a statement. “At our church in Penobscot County, all the positive cases were people who were sitting 6 feet apart.”
The Episcopal Church in Vermont, the fourth-largest denomination with 5,700 members in 47 congregations, will continue to provide online prayer after suspending its option for outdoor worship just before Thanksgiving.
“These new restrictions come at a time when we are all suffering from pandemic fatigue, and I know that many of you will find them disheartening,” Episcopal Bishop Shannon MacVean-Brown has written in a public letter. “As Christians, we must commit ourselves to the common good and the welfare of the most vulnerable members of our community. Sometimes we serve God best by taking the simple steps the governor has outlined to slow the spread of a deadly disease.”
American Baptist Churches of Vermont, the fifth-largest denomination with about 6,000 members in some 75 congregations, is an association of local, autonomous parishes that make individual rather than regional plans.
Union Baptist Church in the Northeast Kingdom town of Waterford, for example, is promoting a live Christmas Eve program featuring a candlelight service and carol sing — although participants have to register in advance to maintain capacity limits and physical distancing.
Vermont religious leaders say that, although individual denominations report different practices, they share the same purpose.
“I think the role of the church in this moment is to be people of hope,” the Catholic bishop says. “Our first priority is to keep everyone safe.”
Katie Jickling contributed to this report.
