Emmanuel United Church in Cowansville has had to change its way of worship on the fly like many other houses of worship. Over a month before Christmas, services are planned. The minister, Rev. David Lefneski is shared between Cowansville and the Bedford Area Charge. Indoor services only days before Christmas Eve were cancelled for Bedford and the service at Emmanuel was changed to a Zoom service with no one in the pews. This was preceded by an outdoor candlelit ceremony where people with masks were allowed to attend.
St. Rose de Lima Catholic Church had their indoor services with mandatory masking and social distancing in place. Usually the church is absolutely packed but this Christmas Eve many people were reluctant to attend and it was a quieter celebration of the Christmas season. Churches throughout the region will cope however they can, waiting for this current wave to subside. Resilience is the way to go.
