LOUISVILLE, Ky. — People started returning to churches this weekend for Sunday services.
Like most places that are reopening, things will not quite look the same as they did before coronavirus.
People who wanted to come to Sunday’s in-person mass at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Shively had to register online first.
The capacity was set to 125 people. It's all an effort to keep the people who are inside safe.
“I think we’ve created an environment as well as we can where people should feel comfortable,” St. Lawrence Pastor Rev. Bill Burks said.
Rev. Burks and his team have been working hard for weeks to make sure they have a plan in place to reopen safely.
They have been making sure they have the right cleaning supplies and PPE so people can feel comfortable coming to worship in person again.
Rev. Burks said 70 people signed up to come to Sunday morning mass.
St. Lawrence wasn’t the only church to ask people to reserve their spot beforehand and make changes to services.
Walnut Street Baptist Church posted a video on Facebook earlier this week to set guidelines for this weekend.
Everyone who entered St. Lawrence wore a mask and was greeted with hand sanitizer inside.
People living in the same house could sit together, but otherwise were spaced more than six feet apart.
“We want to make sure that our guidelines are following the government as well as the Archdiocese and doing it the smart way. The Lord wants us to be together, but he wants us to be together safely,” Rev. Burks said.
St. Lawrence’s mass was also streamed online as it has been in past weeks.
During the service, Rev. Burks turned the camera around so people watching online could get an idea of what the church looks like for an in-person service, should they choose to attend in the coming weeks.
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