Sonoma County churches open doors for first time in months

The joyous peals of bells rang out Sunday morning at St. Francis Solano Catholic Church in Sonoma, where parishioners ventured inside the building to celebrate mass together, in person, for the first time in nearly three months.

Rev. Alvin Villaruel approached the altar just after 11 a.m., smiling wide as he looked out at 20 churchgoers who attended one of the first of five weekend services at St. Francis since public health restrictions on religious gatherings were relaxed this weekend.

“This is a joyful occasion,” Villaruel said. “I’m so happy that we are all here.”

St. Francis Solano and other churches ceased in-person services in mid March, when public health officials prohibited public gatherings to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Over the last three months, Villaruel conducted services online and shared them with parishioners on Facebook until they could gather again together inside the church.

On Saturday, Sonoma County took its largest step so far to restore public life, issuing a new coronavirus health order that permitted restaurants, retailers, hair salons and houses of worship to resume business indoors under social distancing requirements.

Since the county is meeting several state benchmarks for reopening, Public Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase said on Friday that faith-based gatherings could reconvene so long as the crowd doesn’t exceed 100 people or 25% of the building capacity.

For the numerous local residents whose lives are deeply intertwined with their faith community, a restriction on religious services has been difficult to cope with.

Carlin Gould, 66, of Sonoma attended services daily with her husband before the coronavirus pandemic, and said “something was very much missing” even though they had virtual services to turn to.

She had no reservations about going back on Sunday, and trusted that Villaruel and the pastoral staff would put in place the right safety measures.

“It was wonderful to be back in a house where the Lord is present, to be able to see a few familiar sets of eyes above their masks,” Gould said. “It’s wonderful be able to come together as a community and worship again.”

Villaruel said he has been preparing to reopen for almost a month once county officials began pursuing an accelerated reopening plan that included in-person worship. By the time services resumed this weekend, the familiar stained-glass windows, archways and gable ceilings of the chapel had a few new fixtures.

Every other aisle was blanketed in plastic wrap with caution tape crossed at both ends of the covered pews, ensuring every churchgoer was seated two rows apart.

Signs along the walls detailed specific social-distancing rules, and only families or people who arrived in the same car were allowed to share the same row.

The large wooden doors at the back of the parish were closed off unless there was an emergency. Everyone shuffled through one entrance at the start and a different exit at the end, and was required to use hand sanitizer each time. No one entered without a mask, including Villaruel, who lowered his mask when he addressed the congregation.

Villaruel’s amended sermon on the broad meaning of love to commemorate the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity lasted roughly 30 minutes. The goal was to give volunteers enough time to disinfect each pew before the next service, he said.

The rite of communion, when churchgoers receive sacred bread and wine from Villaruel directly, was optional. With the protocols in place and a group of volunteers sanitizing the space regularly, the priest felt they were keeping their community protected.

“That’s really the key for us,” he said. “We want everyone to be safe. We don’t want anyone to get sick or infect anyone else.”

A church in Mendocino County was linked to nine cases of COVID-19 last month.

Health officials said the outbreak in Redwood Valley was due to a Mother’s Day service at Assembly of God Church where multiple people were singing.

St. Francis in Sonoma was one of the few Sonoma County churches to open its doors over the weekend. Spring Hills Church in Fulton hosted watch parties where people could reserve a seat in advance and view a recorded service on the big screen inside the building.

Others had plans to open up next week, although some ministries remain wary of opening up too quickly.

Rev. Lindsey Bell-Kerr, who serves two United Methodist congregations in Santa Rosa, said she would be fine continuing to livestream services for several months - even with the new endorsement from county health leaders.

A key Methodist principle is “do no harm,” she said. Religious leaders have an ethical responsibility to guarantee the safety of their community, and opening now could give members the wrong impression about the current state of the virus.

“Part of that essential service we provide is a moral voice,” Bell-Kerr said. “If we say ‘everybody come in,’ that’s telling folks the threat from COVID-19 is lessening, and that’s not true. There’s a difference between risk-taking and risk-making.”

You can reach Staff Writer Yousef Baig at 707-521-5390.