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Places of worship will be allowed to welcome people back inside as part of the first step of B.C.乌鸦传媒檚 re-opening plan, underway now, but Langley churches are taking it slow and moving in careful stages.

At Langley乌鸦传媒檚 St. George乌鸦传媒檚 Anglican church, more than a century old, there was no in person service scheduled for Sunday, May 31, the first weekend after the re-opening plan was announced, said Rev. Kelly Duncan.

The on Tuesday, May 25 said that indoor in-person faith-based gatherings would be able to resume at a reduced capacity.

But not all churches, including St. George乌鸦传媒檚, will be able to head back right away. A pastoral letter from Bishop John Stephens said that indoor worship won乌鸦传媒檛 start in local Anglican churches until June 15.

乌鸦传媒淭here is no indoor worship allowed at the moment unless it is for recording online worship (with a maximum of 10 people),乌鸦传媒� Stephens wrote.

Indoor worship will resume for Anglican churches as early as June 15, once all COVID protocols including masking, distancing, and contact tracing are in place, but with a ban on congregational singing.

Larger places of worship have other challenges and different plans.

Derrick Hamre, lead pastor at Langley乌鸦传媒檚 Christian Life Assembly, has been working with his team on plans to slowly bring back approximately 3,000 people across several campuses to in-person worship.

That doesn乌鸦传媒檛 mean that worship will be mass gatherings in the church itself right away.

乌鸦传媒淭he church is not a building, the church is people,乌鸦传媒� Hamre said.

That乌鸦传媒檚 why the first phase of CLA乌鸦传媒檚 re-opening is to ask church members to open up their own homes as places of hospitality and gathering. With people now allowed to have members of other households visit, it乌鸦传媒檚 gatherings of families and individuals that starts first.

乌鸦传媒淭hat乌鸦传媒檚 where we begin, very grassroots,乌鸦传媒� said Hamre. 乌鸦传媒淟ove one another, connect with one another.乌鸦传媒�

The second stage will be bringing back people for gatherings in separate congregations. Youths, seniors, addiction recovery groups 乌鸦传媒� they乌鸦传媒檒l be able to meet in church buildings in groups of 50 or fewer, with safety protocols.

After that, the public opening will be the first Sunday after June 15, assuming the provincial plan stays on track.

乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檙e excited about that, we haven乌鸦传媒檛 had Sundays open, really, for a year,乌鸦传媒� Hamre said.

The maximum number of people allowed to gather for worship indoors is expected to be 50.

Since November, during the second wave of COVID-19 that saw cases spike before the holidays, there has been no indoor worship allowed in churches, temples, and mosques in B.C., and local faith communities have turned to everything from virtual services via computer to gathering in cars in parking lots.

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Duncan said the St. George乌鸦传媒檚 is being very cautious.

As for what a return to in-person worship will be like, Duncan said the first phase will likely be much like what was in place last summer and fall, when churches were open but with reduced capacity.

Those who want to attend in person will probably have to register in advance, she said.

At CLA, Hamre said the church is planning to hold a number of in-person special events over the summer to celebrate together as restrictions ease.

At St. George乌鸦传媒檚 Duncan said there will still be some form of online worship for those who can乌鸦传媒檛 come, but it won乌鸦传媒檛 be a live stream of the indoor service.

乌鸦传媒淒oing a hybrid service in the church live is not something that乌鸦传媒檚 easy to do,乌鸦传媒� she said, due to the age of the building.

However, the church does want to keep reaching out online even after the restrictions are all lifted.

The last year has brought in entirely new parishioners who had never set foot in the church before the pandemic, as well as some familiar faces.

乌鸦传媒淔olks that had moved away, that had been sorry to leave their church community,乌鸦传媒� Duncan said.

In addition, the online system allows reaching out to people who can乌鸦传媒檛 leave their homes, whether for the long term or because of a temporary condition.

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 something that we乌鸦传媒檙e trying to hold on to, absolutely,乌鸦传媒� she said.