Life on the pulpit through COVID-19

Father Phil Mason misses the interaction with his parishioners the most.

“In my sermons there is always something about how I feel. I want to see you. I want to hug you. Just to shake somebody’s hand would be a pleasant thing. I haven’t shaken someone’s hand since March,” says Father Phil, who is the priest at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Wimberley.

A lot of businesses and organizations have been hit hard by restrictions surrounding COVID-19, but few have suffered like churches and other houses of worship. The Texas attorney general’s office has issued five pages of instructions on how religious institutions should operate.

Father Phil, however, boils it down to one succinct sentence: “Basically, if it involves a public gathering we don’t do it.”

Back in the days before the virus, St. Stephen’s used to host a couple Sunday services that would attract close to 200 worshipers. There was a 15-voice choir, Sunday schools and numerous social gatherings.

Times have changed. Now Father Phil delivers his Sunday message in a pretty much empty chapel. There’s a soloist, Anne Jones, an organist, Allen Hennig, and a cameraman, Robert McLemore. The sermon and music is recorded on an iPhone and members of the church can watch it on YouTube or Facebook, at any time that’s convenient. The services are recorded in the smaller chapel instead of the larger church.

The church used to offer some 30 ministries, rang-ing from a writer’s group to a regular ice cream social. Father Phil’s basic rule applies to all of them: If they require a gathering of people they are not meeting.

Despite the restrictions, Father Phil hasn’t seen a dip in support. On-line views of the service pretty much equal church membership and financial pledges have remained stable. “It’s hard to measure actual attendance,” says Father Phil. “I don’t think there has been a significant drop-off in attendance.”

Sunday experience

Explains Father Phil: “We have two really important things that the church is doing right now. One is creating that Sunday experience and, two, we have a group of people who call every single member to see how they are doing.”

The feedback Father Phil gets on YouTube and Facebook and through emails has largely been positive.

There’s a Wednesday St. Stephen’s prayer meeting that’s held via the online video conferencing tool Zoom. There’s also a planned Blessing of the Animals this fall on Zoom. Parishioners can bring a dog or cat — or, as Father Phil points with a smile, a snake or a cow — to the camera for an official blessing.

Unfortunately, the church is not hosting weddings for the foreseeable future. “No gatherings at all,” says Father Phil.

Since the beginning of the pandemic none of the members of St. Stephen’s has died. There will be no funerals either. “I couldn’t stand it if someone got sick and died,” he says.

If there’s a need for a meeting with a parishioner with a problem, Father Phil says he “can do it face-toface.”

“Where there’s a need we will try to fill it,” he says.

The church’s school, which serves about 100 students in grades pre-kindergarten through sixth, is planning on opening next month. The details are being worked out.

The increased use of technology may have an upside. Prior to his becoming a priest, Father Phil was a computer programmer so he’s at ease with the new way of doing things. People all over the world can now tune in to a service that originates in Wimberley.

There are plans to install high-tech cameras in the main church building so future services and weddings can be professionally recorded. Father Phil points out that large churches have been using technology extensively for years to bring in new worshipers and to make the church’s message easier to access.

Future challenges

Ed Stetzer, an evangelism expert who serves as executive director of Wheaton College’s Billy Graham Center, told the Seattle Times newspaper: “I don’t think we’ll go back to a time when churches just didn’t care about online resources.”

But the pandemic will present some major challenges to churches, says Stetzer: “Is this going to be a pivot point where people who were not heavily engaged choose to disengage? The answer to that is probably yes for a significant number of people.”

St. Stephen’s started in 1973 as an offshoot of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in San Marcos. The parishioners first meet in the Lion’s Club office, then in a ranch bunkhouse across the road from its current site at 6000 FM 3237. It split from the San Marcos Church in the late 1980s.

The church and school, along with a nature trail and cemetery, now sit on a beautiful 52-acre site with majestic live oaks.

Father Phil is the interim rector at St. Stephen’s. He was born in Central Texas and served as a priest in Colorado for 13 years. After retiring and returning home, he joined the Wimberley church and was called on when the previous rector, Sandra Casey-Martus, retired. The church was searching for a permanent replacement, but the virus has slowed that search. “Some retirement, huh?,” says Father Phil with a grin.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has issued detailed guidelines for houses of worship. He has designated them as “essential” but goes on to say, if possible, they should hold their services remotely. If that’s not practical, they need to observe proper social distancing, disinfect between services and encourage at-risk worshippers to participle remotely.

For information on St. Stephen’s call 512-847- 9956 or click on www.ststeve.org.