Getting Ready

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Area churches focus on cleanliness as they make plans to resume services

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  • Pastor Dave Spedden of Living Hope in Florahome vacuums the church sanctuary. The church reopened for services last month while observing social distancing guidelines due to COVID-19.
    Pastor Dave Spedden of Living Hope in Florahome vacuums the church sanctuary. The church reopened for services last month while observing social distancing guidelines due to COVID-19.
  • Ronnie Beams and Michael Burkhart of Liberty Baptist cleans chairs they took out of the church following the building being tented for termites.
    Ronnie Beams and Michael Burkhart of Liberty Baptist cleans chairs they took out of the church following the building being tented for termites.
  • Mary Thomas and Diana Ware of Calvary Missionary Baptist Church clean the doors at the entrance of the Palatka church.
    Mary Thomas and Diana Ware of Calvary Missionary Baptist Church clean the doors at the entrance of the Palatka church.
  • Positively Putnam FL
    Positively Putnam FL
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Talk about clean living.

The new normal for churches in Putnam County now includes hand sanitizer and face masks.

While many churches in the county voluntarily chose to close their doors weeks ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some compensated with drive-thru and backyard services, while others live-streamed services.

Some churches are making preparations for services to resume inside their buildings as the state slowly reopens.

Dave Spedden, pastor of Living Hope Church in Florahome, said the church has offered live-stream services on Facebook since March 22. The church had a soft reopening May 24, while observing social distancing.

“We wanted to take these measures with people sitting 6 feet apart unless they were a family in the same household,” he said. “Then they sat on the same row together. Other than that, we had people sitting every other row.”

Prior to the reopening, Spedden and his staff of volunteers worked to clean all surfaces at the church by wiping them down with disinfectant. It’s a procedure they do before and after services.

“We wanted to offer a clean, safe environment,” Spedden said. “We had hand sanitizer available and accessible, as well as masks for anyone that may have wanted one. We also sprayed disinfectant on seats when church let out.

“We have a great team set up specifically for our cleaning crew and we will continue to be intentional about maintaining these safety measures as we navigate through this season of reopening.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis didn’t mandate churches close when he issued his stay-at-home order for non-essential businesses and residents in April. Still, most churches looked for alternative methods for services to avoid large gatherings and keeping members safe.

“I don’t think the government has the authority to close a church,” DeSantis said. “I’m certainly not going to do that.”

DeSantis said the services churches provide during the pandemic are important, adding they still need to follow social distancing guidelines.

In Palatka, St. Monica Catholic Church has been closed for public services since March, but with services being live-streamed on Facebook every Sunday. The church reopened its doors May 17 with its regular schedule of Masses. Services are still live-streamed 9 a.m. each Sunday.

Father Ron Camarda also offers a drive-by blessing for those not ready to return due to the pandemic or because of limited spacing. Communion also can be requested. For details, call 325–9777.

“We are keeping to 60 congregants,” he said. “People can call in during the week to request a service or they can go to the parish website. When a Mass is full, they will be asked to choose another Mass time.”

Social distancing is also enforced, but families of the same household can sit together.

“Masks are required of all attending, which we request people bring,” Carmada said. “We do have a decent supply if people don’t have one. Chairs are set up away from each other.”

Camarda said St. Monica’s church was recently painted so it started out having Mass in the parish hall. The church is disinfected after each Mass.

While many churches continue to have live-streamed services across the county, some are using this down time with the doors shut to take care of upkeep, including First Baptist Church of Palatka and Liberty Baptist, which are having their buildings tented for termites.

“We have been closed now for about seven weeks,” said Pastor Don Aycock of Liberty Baptist. “We hope to reopen this month when the CDC and the county deems it safe. We had a big cleanup day after the termite treatment where we took everything out of the building, wiped down all surfaces, cleaned all the furniture and shampooed the carpet. 

Aycock said the church plans to reopen for services June 21, which is Father’s Day.

In Crescent City, Howe Memorial is planning to reopen its doors June 21 for in-person services following an announcement from the Bishop of Florida, who will give the guidelines for doing so.

St. James United Methodist Church in Palatka canceled all services and church activities in mid-March. An exact date the church will reopen has not been determined, but it will be after June 15, according to the Florida United Methodist Conference.

St. John the Divine Church of Palatka reopened its doors May 31 with the guidelines for members and guests to use masks and social distancing.

“Our members were so excited to be together again,” said Father Robert Massey, pastor of the church.