CHURCH STAYS CONNECTED AMIDST PANDEMIC
The invisible Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic crashed like a visible social bomb, impacting all aspects of the lives of the people worldwide including the core of the religious sector in particular. Starting March 15, 2020, the Philippines has since experienced one of the strictest lockdowns in the world as President Rodrigo Roa Duterte ordered the whole Luzon Island into general community quarantine (GCQ). With anxious anticipation, the Filipinos geared themselves ready to face this new challenge by stockpiling on necessary commodities as all establishments were ordered closed – stores, schools, churches, tourist/leisure institutions, and non-operation of public utilities. Exempted were those dealing with essentials such as food, medicines and services, goods transport, utilities, and telecommunication services. Even entry ports were closed to incoming guests/visitors, and returning residents were required to undergo Covid-19 testing and quarantine. Eventually, the entire country went into lockdown status in different forms of severity according to the Covid-19 cases and statistics supplied by the local government units and hospital patient admissions.
The government’s immediate lockdown synchronized with that of one-third of the world’s population as the World Health Organization (WHO) issued guidelines on the handling of this pandemic. Ordered to stay home were those in the vulnerable categories as the senior citizens and below 21 years old. Furthermore, for those going outside, health protocols started to be implemented – wearing face masks, body temperature checks, use of alcohol/hand sanitizers or hand washing, coughing etiquette, social (physical) distancing, etc. – and the mandatory issuance of quarantine passes for those allowed to leave their communities.
In this difficult predicament, the IFI clergy experienced a spiritual disconnect with the members and economic hardships due to church closure. True for both the Diocese of Greater Manila Area and the regional and national sectors as well, the ecclesial authorities devised innovative ways to spiritually reach the people via the internet, by celebrating the Holy Eucharist through online livestreaming. Four churches with the appropriate technology immediately responded – Cathedral of the Crucified Lord (Kangkong), Parish of the Risen Lord (Balingasa), Parish of the Holy Sepulchre (Paco), and Parish of the Most Holy Trinity (Pasay). With churches’ doors closed to the public, the clergy began celebrating the Sunday Masses inside their respective churches while the parishioners participate by watching in their homes. This method has been received with great enthusiasm as the wider audience enables those who are home-bound and the overseas IFI parishioners can now view these livestreamed Masses on the scheduled times or even the recorded videos during their convenient times. Msgr. Manny Ballesteros shared that Balingasa has an actual average virtual participation of 200 with some 6,000-7,000 views.
The spiritual clamor for actually receiving the Holy Communion posed the next logistical problem. The diocesan Cathedral and the Balingasa parish resolved this by hand-delivering the communion wafers in sealed containers to the members’ homes the Saturday before and to be received during the livestreamed Sunday Mass. In every delivery by the communion emissary, only the exact number of communion wafers is given each time according to the number of actual home communicants participating in the online Mass; in order to protect the sanctity of the blessed hosts.
The fiscal problem is settled by collecting the tithe/pledge envelopes offered during the Sunday Mass at home and later picked up by the Parish Council treasurer and turned over to the diocesan bursar. For those outbound-restricted especially the seniors or elderly, they also have the option to use payment couriers like the PayMaya or GCash. The other financial obligations or diocesan remittances are picked up by the bursar on scheduled dates from the priests’ locale. While some parishes are able to meet their targeted incomes based on income categories, however, some are actually encountering deficits due to the unemployment situations of their parishioners.
The Paco Parish of the Holy Sepulchre has extended virtual participation by including people at home in video-taped liturgical readings (First and Second Readings, Psalm, and Prayers of the People) inserted in the livestreamed Mass. This inclusivity reaches and gives importance to the far-flung members worldwide, and they have expressed their appreciation for full participation. As the government has relaxed the rule on church attendance – from zero to 10% and now 30% -- the DGMA churches have complied with strict implementation of health protocols – face masks and shields, temperature checks, foot cleansers, hand sanitizers, and physical (pew) distancing, Most churches have opened for the Sunday Masses according to attendance requirement, but some missions remain closed due to barangay conditions and some senior clergy unable to celebrate. It has been agreed, however, that simultaneous livestreaming will continue even as the churches go back to normal Eucharistic celebrations and other activities.
As livestreaming is the new norm in this age of pandemic, other church activities have also used the internet as a convenient medium to reach out to both the local and worldwide audience via the Zoom, Facebook, and other social media. Now clergy meetings, seminars (“Webinars”), Bible Studies, and other activities (National Church’s Mass/Evensong and Bible Studies) are easily facilitated and IFI members are closely linked even on short-notice. Msgr. Manny happily announced that the diocesan WOPIC conducts Bible Studies from 2:00-4:00 PM on the first Sundays and 3 rd Sundays of the month; and its Thanksgiving Day will be celebrated by livestreaming from the diocesan Cathedral of the Crucified Lord on November 28, 2020 with gift-giving, a Webinar, and a short program.
How long this “new normal way” of church communication or connecting to the faithful shall continue in effect remains to be seen; perhaps until such time when the churches can fully accept 100% attendance pending on the success of the anticipated vaccines to be administered on the people. Whichever direction it goes in reaching out to the members, the clergy and faithful are confident that God who is in absolute control will provide a way according to His Will.
