ST. PAUL - Celebrating Christ’s birth in the midst of worldwide pandemic presents its own set of challenges in the face of social distancing and restrictions around gatherings. It is forcing people to be both creative and cautious in how they choose to celebrate the reason for the season.
At the St. Paul Catholic Cathedral in St. Paul, upgrades to the video equipment have made for an impressive improvement to live-streaming its services, according to Bishop Paul Terrio who is more than pleased with the end result.
“I was in the cathedral with the people setting this up the other day and, my golly, it’s like watching professional imaging on the social media - it’s very good.”
Live streaming their services on social media has increasingly become an all-important tool in enabling churches of many faiths to remain connected with their congregations through the pandemic. This Christmas it will be more important than ever.
The Catholic church is preparing for four Christmas Eve masses this year, with the first beginning at 2 p.m Christmas Eve. All will be live-streamed. Bishop Terrio said a decree from the Pope has extended permission to priests around the world to celebrate four masses in a row on Christmas, one more than the traditional three.
“The church is trying to respond and accommodate the extra numbers of people who attend a Christmas mass by making it possible for us to celebrate more masses and being able to start them early on the afternoon before Christmas Day.”
Bishop Terrio understands the struggle and frustrations people are experiencing as Christmas approaches. Traditionally a time that brings people together, this year the message is the opposite – one that tells people to remain apart, to not gather and to celebrate only with those in their own household.
“People are saying ‘well, this is what we’ve got to do.' I think people are dealing with the fact that we are not going to be able to have a normal family time at Christmas. We just have to stay home and make sure that we are not contributing to the spreading of this infection,” he said. “We just have to deal with this. Isn’t it awful? It’s no fun but here we go.”
He said perhaps this year’s unusual circumstances will provide time for people to reconnect with the true meaning of Christmas.
“Something that came from the Pope himself, he said the origin of all this celebration is the birth of Jesus and let’s just remember the circumstances and hardships involved there. Let’s keep that in mind and learn from that and take heart from that. I think that cuts across a lot of social levels and situations in communities. It’s true – let’s get back to the original purpose and meaning of all of this.”
Interesting times
This past Sunday’s message to members of the Bethel Family Worship Centre in St. Paul was about peace, last Sunday it was about frustration with the underlying theme throughout the last few months being to deliver hope in this unprecedented time, according to Rev. Duane Grant.
“People are very frustrated and, financially, people are hurting – it’s not a fun time for anybody right now,” he said Friday.
With the Christmas season upon us, Rev. Grant is hopeful people will take some time to devote their faith in Christ but he is very much aware that the attention of many lies elsewhere.
“People are so occupied with what’s going on that their minds are more about COVID, financial situations and sickness,” he said, adding he is hopeful people will look to God and turn to God for solace.
Tending to the needs of his congregation and helping those who are struggling is made difficult by the restrictions in place.
“When people are hurting and when people are sick in hospital - you can’t even visit them. So, it makes it very difficult to do your job, because your job is in person,” he said, noting that these are “interesting times, but we will get through it. There will be an end to all this and we will go forward.”
The centre’s Christmas Eve service will also be live-streamed. People can view it by going to www.bfwc.ca.
Ukrainian Christmas
Father Peter Haugen of the All Saints Ukrainian Orthodox Church in St. Paul said the uptick in COVID cases and the increased restrictions announced earlier this month, spurred the church to cancel all its services for the time being. It has yet to be decided if a service will be held Jan. 7, Christmas Day for the Orthodox community.
In the meantime, two Edmonton churches are live-streaming their services for the local congregation to tune into.
While the cancellation of local services is disappointing, Father Haugen reminds everyone to be thankful for their blessings, even during a time of pandemic.
“If we have the ability to be grateful and understand the blessings we have around us – if we have a bed to sleep in, clothes on our backs, and food on our tables, then every day is a gift from God and every day we can have those things is a day we should be thankful for,” he said. “We have to keep hope that we will see our way through this.”
Father Haugen said he is proud of how his congregation is taking the safety of their families and community seriously and following through to adjust their celebrations in keeping with public health safety protocols and staying within their own households.
“Ukrainians aren’t unique in this, but the meal is a huge part of who we are. The gathering at the table and a lot of our traditions are centered around not just the faith but the food. Many of them are not celebrating with their families the way they normally would. So, this year, our holy supper on Jan. 6 is becoming not just a gathering of one table, but a gathering of many tables all at the same time.”
