When your flock is made up of some of the most vulnerable among us, a pandemic will cause you to be very cautious. For Larry Dunlap, pastor of Bird-in-Hand United Methodist Church (BIHUMC), whose congregation is mostly octogenarians, holding church services over the past year has been tricky. "Only six of our people have internet access, so it didn't make much sense to stream the services," said Dunlap, who has been keeping in touch with members via cards and phone calls and visiting when it was safe. The church was open from May through November 2020 with safety precautions in place.
On March 7, BIHUMC opened its doors for the first time in 2021 for live worship. One weekly service was held at 9 a.m. with a variety of safety measures in place. The use of masks and social distancing were in practice at the church when it was open in 2020. "The chairs are already six feet apart, but we allow couples to sit next to each other," said Dunlap, who noted that a machine that sanitizes an individual's hands and takes his or her temperature is stationed at the door. "We will have Communion using fellowship cups that have the grape juice and wafer in one container," explained Dunlap. "You take the wafer and eat that and take the other side and drink the grape juice." The church secretary places bulletins on the chairs prior to the service. "You find your chair and what you need for the worship service is there," said Dunlap. Congregants sing wearing masks, but Dunlap also added responsive readings of the psalms to the service as an adjunct to the hymns.
Dunlap even scheduled a sermon that dove into a COVID-19-related topic. "My first sermon was about being inundated with news," shared Dunlap, who went on a 30-day news fast from the beginning of February through early March to prepare to preach. He noted that the experience has changed him. "Now that I have gone through that fast, I will probably tune into the news, but I won't be listening every morning or afternoon," he said. "I don't need to be pounding myself with the news all day."
Dunlap noted that the opening of the church was made bittersweet by the fact that some members passed on during the last year. He noted that some congregants had been ill with the virus and that three had died.
Looking ahead, the pastor is hopeful that his flock will be able to gather safely for many weeks and months to come. "We may not go back to exactly the way it used to be, but we will find a new normal," he said. Concerning the future beyond the pandemic, he added, "I think we will be together again holding hands and hugging, but we will always be more mindful about how we could be spreading bacteria and viruses," he said.
BIHUMC is located at 2620 Old Philadelphia Pike, Bird-in-Hand. More information about the church may be found at https://bihumc.com. Readers who have questions may call 717 -397-2333.
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