Sheldon, Iowa — Earlier this week Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds announced that her ban on gatherings for religious services was being eased. The governor had issued the ban as one part of her plan to try and slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the state of Iowa.
Reynolds announced that, effective May 1st, worship service gatherings could once again be held in Iowa, with some limitations. She said that churches would need to take measures to help keep their congregations safe, including the practice of social distancing for the worship services.
This Sunday, May 3rd would be the first Sunday churches could hold Sunday services after the governor’s easing of restrictions, but most of the Sheldon churches we talked to say they intend to wait a little longer to make sure that they have taken all the right steps to keep their congregants safe at church.
A common theme in talking to local churches is they say they plan on waiting at least one or two more weeks before beginning in-church Sunday morning services, but all that have been providing online video of their services during the shutdown period will be continuing to do so, and those whose services are broadcast on KIWA will continue to provide that worship opportunity to their congregants.
As one Sheldon pastor put it, “We want to take our time and make sure that all our ducks are in a row before we resume our normal worship schedule. We want to make sure that we don’t mess anything up, and that none of our church family is exposed to COVID-19 at one of our worship services.”
