COLUMBUS, Ind. — Call it a new year’s homecoming of sorts as some houses of worship begin to reassemble amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Columbus resident Phil Miles acknowledged it was good to gather with friends Sunday at Community Church of Columbus for worship for the first time in two months — even if welcome-back hugs will have to wait a bit in these socially-distanced times.
“I’m a hugger,” Miles said. “And most of my friends are huggers. But people obviously are reluctant about that. There were mostly fist-bumps and elbow bumps.”
The church currently is generally limiting its in-person attendance to 25 percent of its 900-person sanctuary capacity, according to Rodney Lucas, director of operations. But he said he doubted leadership would be turning away any people.
A total of 110 people attended its masks-required first service and 210 attended its masks-recommended second service, he said. Most in second service wore masks, and Lucas said the attendance figures were a good sign.
“We felt very good about that,” he said. “I think that was a good indication to us that it was time to reopen and come back.”
Streamed services will continue indefinitely at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, Lucas said.
For the complete story, see Saturday’s Republic.
