Many aspects of life in the Parkland have been temporarily disrupted, and that includes our ability to congregate at places of worship.
The chief provincial public health officer made it very clear: social distancing guidelines apply to all gatherings outside of your home, including “faith-based” gatherings.
Community Minister at the Church of Christ Dauphin, Wayne Olsen, tells CKDM churches will be finding other ways to deliver their services.
“Many will be doing online services for their members, just to encourage them while we are under these social distancing regulations. A lot of congregations are not meeting at this time.”
The details are still being worked out, but Father Olsen says there are several online-options for worshippers.
“A lot of congregations are using Zoom so people can sign in to watch what’s going on. Others have Facebook groups so they can go online and join their group to meet that way. Some might even Skype their services to people. I don’t know all the ways of doing that, but I know that’s what they are preparing to do.”
The Church of Christ Dauphin is also looking for ways the community can continue to deliver much needed food-assistance programs.
“We are still trying to make arrangements with the schools to feed the kids. If anyone would like to help, we may need a few drivers. If people want to help out with providing some of those meals, they can make a donation to Parkland Crossing and we can make these things happen.”
Here's a list of church closures we know so far:
St. Viator’s Roman Catholic Church Sunday and weekday masses are suspended until after April 26th
The South Parkland Parish Anglican Churches in Dauphin, Gilbert Plains, Grandview, and McCreary have suspended their services until further notice.
The Dauphin First United Church, and the Church of Christ Dauphin will also be suspending service.
The Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Resurrection in Dauphin has cancelled all services until further notice and is closed to the public for the time being.
