Easter offerings critical for local churches during pandemic

It is safe to say few working pastors have ever seen an Easter quite like this one.

Gov. Mike Parson’s stay-at-home order will mean houses of worship will again be empty Sunday.

Easter, the annual celebration of Jesus’ resurrection, normally brings the highest attendance of the year, with the possible exception of Christmas Eve.

“The whole pastoral experience has been challenged,” said Adrian Taylor Jr., pastor of Lighthouse United of Cape Girardeau, who is livestreaming his Sunday services.

“I can’t go see my people in person,” said Taylor, whose nondenominational ministry is based on Southern Expressway, with additional worship centers in St. Louis County and Marble Hill, Missouri.

The Rev. Allan Saunders leads an Easter Sunday service April 1, 2018, at Old St. Vincent's Church in Cape Girardeau.Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian, file

“(The coronavirus) has definitely put a huge weight on us,” Taylor added.

Empty pews are a big concern and so is the resultant drop in financial giving.

The Easter offering, aside from the Christmas season, is typically one of the largest in the liturgical year.

Taylor said sheltering at home and social distancing have had an immediate impact on giving in his congregations, which in normal times worship a total of 300 people each Sunday.

“Our offerings were down 50% the first week (of isolation),” Taylor said.

“Now, we’re about 20 to 30% off in our giving totals,” he said.

Father Rick Jones of St. Vincent DePaul Church in Cape Girardeau said he anticipates giving to be noticeably reduced for the duration of the pandemic.

Mass at St. Vincent is being livestreamed on the parish’s Facebook page.

Jones, who came to St. Vincent in 2017, said more people are going online to financially support the congregation of 1,600 families.

“We’re using an internet service called Faith Direct,” Jones said.

“About a third of our members have signed up (with Faith Direct).” Jones added, “enabling gifts of once a week or once a month.”

Jones said despite financial anxiety, St. Vincent will not retreat from its traditional giving to the poor and supporting the work of maintaining Holy Land shrines such as the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

“Some of our folks have personally dropped off their contributions at church or are mailing them in,” Jones said.

“Folks understand the major source of (St. Vincent’s) funding has been taken away (by the coronavirus emergency),” the priest added.

The Rev. Joe Rowley of Jackson’s Emanuel United Church of Christ said his 250-member congregation is being encouraged to give via the MyEOffering online service, available on Emanuel’s website.

“Also, more people are mailing in their offering,” Rowley said, “but mail-ins are not equaling what we normally receive in-person on Sundays.”

Rowley’s worship is available on Facebook Live and YouTube Live.

“People who would never go online for church are now embracing this,” said Rowley, who said he believes about 60 people have been logging on weekly to watch.

“We have one person who has given his entire (annual) monetary pledge already for 2020,” said Rowley, a reaction to the overall drop in donations.

“If more of our folks would follow suit,” Rowley added, “it would really help.”

Taylor is using multiple payment platforms for Lighthouse United.

“The bulk of our online giving comes through an app called Givelify,” said Taylor, who said the church has utilized this service for the past five years.

Taylor said younger people tend to like Cash App and a few still prefer the traditional PayPal service.

“I’ve been coaching several pastors how to set up online giving,” said Taylor, who nonetheless is fearful some churches may go under financially during the pandemic.

“I fear some (congregations) may not make it because they have no online presence,” Taylor said, “plus some despise social media.”

All three pastors are looking for ways to economize in the short-term.

“One of our big expenditures is our grade school,” said St. Vincent’s Jones, “and we are continuing to pay teachers and maintenance staff.

“Of course, the grass is still growing, so we can’t cut back there,” he added.

Rowley said scheduled maintenance and cleaning at Emanuel have been suspended for now.

“We’re cutting expenses as we can,” he said, “and, naturally, we don’t have to heat our sanctuary as much.”

Taylor said Lighthouse United had just begun a partnership with the Cape Girardeau School District to minister to at-risk students on church grounds.

“I think we got one day in before the schools shut down,” Taylor said.

“There was some anticipated income from that program we’re not getting,” he added.

Rowley is looking for a silver lining in this financially crushing time for local churches.

“I’m hoping people will rediscover (their) passion and clarity,” Rowley said.

“Maybe in this lean time, we can again hear the actual call of God,” he added.