• Contact Us
  • Events calendar
Entering Swellesley
Pinnacle, Wellesley

The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

  • Advertise
  • Business index
  • Contribute
  • Wellesley Square
  • Private schools
  • Camp
  • Eat
  • Schools
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Embracing diversity
  • Kids
  • About us
  • Events
  • Natick Report
  • COVID-19
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Athlete of the Week
  • Seniors
Needham Bank, Wellesley
Write Ahead, Wellesley

Wellesley houses of worship will continue to love their neighbors at a distance

May 23, 2020 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday revealed the state’s re-opening plan, which includes a rough timeline along which organizations in various sectors might re-open. Up first were places of worship (up to 40% occupancy), beginning May 18. But don’t expect Wellesley’s religions houses to rush toward re-filling those pews. They’re all still praying on it.

Due to continued COVID-19 concerns, Wellesley Village Church will not rush to re-open.

Despite the new guidelines, religious organizations in town are taking a cautious approach under advisement of each of their own committees as they study the situation carefully. Services and masses, which have been online for weeks now, will continue in that vein, while baptisms, weddings, and funerals will be managed on a case-by-case basis.

Temple Beth Elohim‘s (TBE) Rabbi Joel Sisenwine in an interiew said, “Preservation of human life and health is one of the great values in Judaism. In the rabbinic tradition we’re told to sacrifice certain joys of religious life in order to preserve life, and that is true today.”

Sisenwine said the synagogue, which has not scheduled a re-opening date, has gone as far as temporarily re-branding itself. For now, call it TBE Online.

Milestone Church‘s Pastor Jay Mudd in an interview agreed that now is not the time to take COVID-related health concerns lightly. “We’re huggers at Milestone,” he says. “That’s just not going to work right now.”

Mudd noted that when services do resume, worship will look different than before. According to the Milestone website, “We will have to limit interaction and worship with only a handful of people in the room. Your overall worship experience will be much different than you expect.”

Day by day

No church or synagogue offices are staffed right now. A pastor or rabbi might stop in briefly to record a section of the upcoming online worship service. A bare-bones cleaning crew does the rounds of chores quickly and at a distance from one another. Phone calls either go to voicemail or are picked up by a staff member working from home.

When the buildings do re-open, expect to see masks on clergy and worshippers; plenty of sanitation supplies available from hand sanitizer to bleach wipes; and even plexiglass shields in some offices to protect staff as they interact with the public. All scenarios are currently up for discussion including traffic patterns throughout the spaces and a dismissal system that could look less like a meandering flock headed out in to the world and more like a military operation.

It seems likely that most sanctuaries will remain closed until fall, which could be the most sensible course given that attendance at Wellesley churches and synagogues already trends downward during the summer months. The closest to opening may be St. John and St. Paul’s. Weekly mass attendance is  a precept of the Catholic Church, although dispensation from the Sunday Mass obligation has been granted to the faithful for now.

According to Wellesley Village Church (WVC) pastor Sarah Butter in a statement on the church’s website, “I am not ready to reopen WVC for public worship or gatherings until we discern it is in the best interest and well-being of all. For now…worship will be remote and small groups and meetings will continue to gather on-line.” WVC is looking to work toward a phased reopening, hopefully in the fall.

The commandment has been delivered loud and clear: Love they neighbor as thyself — but do so at a distance.

MORE:

Where to worship online in Wellesley

print

Share

Filed Under: Churches, COVID-19, Health, Religion

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You have to agree to the comment policy.

Linden Square, Wellesley
Dedham Country Day School

Tip us off…

Please send tips, photos, ideas to [email protected]

 

Advertisements

Wellesley Square
Wellesley, Jesamondo
Edge on Science
Sexton test prep
Feldman Law
Fay School, Southborough
Wellesley Theatre Project
Volvo
Cheesy Street Grill
Admit Fit, Wellesley
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Never miss a post with our free daily Swellesley Report email
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

You can subscribe for free, though we appreciate any contribution that supports our independent journalism.

Click on Entering Natick sign to read our Natick Report

Entering Natick road sign

Most Read Posts

  • Wellesley Business Buzz: Merchants raise 'Parking, parking, parking' concerns in Wellesley Square; Lockheart Restaurant sign goes up
  • Wellesley public works taking fresh look at RDF give-and-take area
  • You might wanna sit down before you open that Wellesley tax bill
  • Wellesley Select Board office hours
  • Wellesley book news: Couple takes part in Nantucket Book Fair; Journalists coming to town to tout books

Upcoming Events

Jul 6
10:00 am - 11:00 am

Open House at Boston Outdoor Preschool Network

Jul 16
9:30 am - 4:30 pm

Wellesley Square July Jubilation Sidewalk Sale

Jul 19
8:00 am - 9:00 am

Fay School admission information session

Jul 20
10:00 am - 11:00 am

Tour at Boston Outdoor Preschool Network

Aug 12
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Fay School admission information session

View Calendar

Popular pages

  • Wellesley’s 7 official scenic roads

Recent Comments

  • J. Staffier on Supporters gather to wish all the best to retiring asst. fire chief Jeff Peterson
  • Dennis McCormick on Wellesley public works taking fresh look at RDF give-and-take area
  • Mary Bowers on Supporters gather to wish all the best to retiring asst. fire chief Jeff Peterson
  • Ian on Wellesley Business Buzz: Merchants raise ‘Parking, parking, parking’ concerns in Wellesley Square; Lockheart Restaurant sign goes up
  • Katalin on Wellesley public works taking fresh look at RDF give-and-take area

Links we like

  • Great Runs
  • Jack Sanford: Wellesley's Major League Baseball Star
  • Taquitos.net
  • Tech-Tamer
  • The Wellesley Wine Press
  • Universal Hub
  • Wellesley Sports Discussion Facebook Group

Categories

  • 2021 Town Election (24)
  • Animals (416)
  • Antiques (49)
  • Art (577)
  • Beyond Wellesley (47)
  • Books (366)
  • Business (1,503)
  • Camp (11)
  • Careers/jobs (48)
  • Churches (79)
  • Clubs (229)
  • Construction (295)
  • Dump (127)
  • Education (3,109)
    • Babson College (250)
    • Bates Elementary School (16)
    • Dana Hall School (34)
    • Fiske Elementary School (9)
    • Hardy Elementary School (44)
    • Hunnewell Elementary School (42)
    • MassBay (55)
    • Schofield Elementary School (24)
    • Sprague Elementary School (19)
    • St. John School (2)
    • Tenacre Country Day School (11)
    • Upham Elementary School (35)
    • Wellesley College (608)
    • Wellesley High School (962)
    • Wellesley Middle School (203)
  • Embracing diversity (69)
  • Entertainment (788)
  • Environment (749)
  • Fashion (141)
  • Finance (14)
  • Fire (163)
  • Food (344)
  • Fundraising (612)
  • Gardens (157)
  • Government (557)
    • 2020 Town Election (47)
    • 2022 Town Election (14)
  • Health (850)
    • COVID-19 (200)
  • Hikes (3)
  • History (388)
  • Holidays (406)
  • Houses (154)
  • Humor (47)
  • Kids (850)
  • Law (8)
  • Legal notices (6)
  • Letters to the Editor (62)
  • Media (70)
  • METCO (4)
  • Military (11)
  • Morses Pond (108)
  • Music (568)
  • Natick Report (29)
  • Neighbors (273)
  • Obituaries & remembrances (73)
  • Outdoors (642)
  • Parenting (62)
  • Police (757)
    • Crime (386)
  • Politics (551)
  • POPS Senior Profile (9)
  • RDF (6)
  • Real estate (331)
  • Religion (131)
  • Restaurants (332)
  • Safety (151)
  • Scouts (2)
  • Seniors (120)
  • Shopping (144)
  • Sponsored (6)
  • Sports (980)
    • Athlete of the Week (6)
  • STEM (107)
  • Technology (164)
  • Theatre (392)
  • Town Meeting (23)
  • Transportation (230)
  • Travel (17)
  • Uncategorized (1,230)
  • Volunteering (346)
  • Weather (177)
  • Wellesley Election 2019 (21)
  • Wellesley Free Library (276)
  • Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend (19)
RSS Feed Icon Subscribe to RSS Feed
Deland, Gibson Insurance, Wellesley

© 2022 The Swellesley Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login