People can sign up for mass at St. Joseph of Calasanctius Church in North Battleford. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW staff) 

By Angela Brown

First come, first served

Sask. places of worship inviting people to sign up for service during COVID-19 restrictions

Jun 15, 2020 | 5:32 PM

Some Saskatchewan places of worship are inviting people to sign up in advance to attend a church service.

The sign up is to guarantee those attending church a spot, since phase three of the Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan only permits limited gatherings.

Starting last week, gatherings at places of worship are limited to 30 per cent seating capacity or up to 150 people, whichever is less.

At St. Joseph of Calasanctius Church in North Battleford attendees pick a week and register if they wish to attend an upcoming mass.

About 35 people attended each of the two masses on June 14.

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Parish council chair Jim McLane said even with 150 guests permitted, people still need to register in advance at the parish office.

He said the process is going well.

“You socially distance as you are coming in, and you socially distance and go out,” McLane said. “No visiting in the narthex. You can visit outside on the lawn if you want but you should be two metres away from everybody.”

Before each mass, organizers mark the pews and the chairs to ensure congregates are separated adequately.

“Where there is a green cross [marked] that is where they would sit,” McLane said.

People in the same household can sit together but they need to keep a minimum of two metres of physical distance from other households, McLane said.

The province developed the guidelines in consultation with leaders from faith communities across Saskatchewan.

McLane said attendance numbers at St. Joseph’s are generally lower in the summertime in any case, as more people are away at the lake, camping or taking a holiday.

Imam Mansoor Azeem of Baitul Amaan Mosque in Lloydminster said for Friday prayer on June 12 a total of 10 people who registered in advance took part in the worship service inside the facility. Each followed physical distancing requirements, donned face masks and had their temperatures taken on site.

Normally in Islamic prayer people stand shoulder-to-shoulder and side-by-side, Azeem said, but they cannot pray this way during the pandemic precautions.

People also brought their own personal prayer matts to use, he said.

Several individuals prayed in their cars outside the mosque, and many families stayed home to pray instead.

Azeem said it is important to have people register for service as a precaution so members can be informed in case there are any issues related to COVID-19 in the future.

He said he appreciates seeing the province’s restrictions for places of worship start to ease, and so do the members.

“People actually want to come back to the mosque and have the same connection with spirituality,” he said.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW