HOUSES OF WORSHIP ACROSS NEW YORK CITY MAKE
ADJUSTMENTS TO CURB SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
As small businesses and
nonprofit organizations
throughout the city suffer
economic harm from the coronavirus
pandemic, religious
institutions are also enduring
the same fate ahead of the upcoming
holy season of Easter,
Passover and Ramadan.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus
crisis, the head of
the Roman Catholic Diocese
of Brooklyn and Queens on
March 16 waived Sunday Mass
attendance obligations for
Catholics in both boroughs until
further notice.
Following Gov. Andrew
Cuomo’s ban on gatherings of
more than 500 people, which
includes houses of worship,
the faith community has made
some adjustments, such as
streaming their weekend services
on the internet.
Paul Palesty, pastor of
the Greek Orthodox Shrine
Church of St. Nicholas, located
at 196-10 Northern Blvd.
in Flushing, said their congregants
have been viewing a
livestream of their scheduled
services on Facebook.
“Our concern would be
that everyone is safe and our
seniors especially because
they’re the most vulnerable,”
Palesty said. “This COVID-19
is a dreadful thing, but at the
same time it’s bringing blessings
too — families are able to
stay home together, rediscovering
each other, parents are
with their children. There are
positive things that are coming
from this and am praying
that everyone is safe and free
of this disease.”
St. Nicholas has closed its
parochial school that has about
600 enrolled students, Palesty
said. Additionally, meetings at
the church have been suspended
and its athletic programs
until further notice.
As for their Easter schedule
on April 19, which is celebrated
one week after the western
Easter, Palesty said they’re unsure
about the upcoming Holy
Week and Easter services.
“We’re very saddened by
these things and it presents
a great financial challenge to
the parish too,” Palesty said.
“Our festival is our number
one fundraiser for our parish
programs and ministries, and
if we’re not going to have these
services, we’re not going to
raise these monies — just like
restaurants, many people are
The Greek Orthodox Shrine Church of St. Nicholas, located at 196-10 Northern Blvd. in Flushing.
suffering economically and so
is the church.”
Brett Younger, senior minister
of Plymouth Church in
Brooklyn Heights, shared Palesty’s
sentiments.
“It’s going to continue to be
difficult because some churches
are hanging on,” Younger
said. “My church is not threatened
to the level like some are
— they’re hanging on by the
thread and will be forced to
make choices about what to
keep and what not too. It seems
pretty likely that some small
churches with a limited budget
may be the end for some.”
The Plymouth Church
school has been suspended and
group gatherings, such as Bible
study, have been canceled
until further notice.
According to Younger, it’s
a painful but interesting time
for churches since they’re being
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.10 COM | MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2020
forced to innovate, even for
those who have resisted innovation.
“I think that in some ways,
churches have been behind on
technology and this will push
them to catch up, and this will
be a small gift from a terrible
time,” Younger said. “We’re
doing online worship, and we
have a tiny group of people worshipping
in the sanctuary and
other groups of people gathered
around their laptops.”
For Younger, the coronavirus
pandemic is a time to be
still and grateful finding ways
to help those that are in need.
“There will come a time
where we’re past this and become
more of the people we
need to be through this terrible
painful opportunity to get
better,” Younger said. “There’s
going to be a bunch of things
taken from us that we’re going
Photo via Facebook/The Greek Orthodox Shrine Church of St. Nicholas
to be grateful for, such as getting
a hug from friends, having
dinner at a restaurant, walking
to school, a shelf filled with
toilet paper or worshipping at
a congregation that you love.”
Meanwhile, the Muslim
Community Center in Manhattan
has canceled its Ramadan
program in April. It’s a
special time during the month
for Muslims as they gather in
large groups for prayers and
dinner, after fasting throughout
the day.
“Our center has iftar (dinner)
every single night in Ramadan,
the nightly prayers
every single night, and we
always invite a scholar from
out of state to be with us during
this special month for
spiritual support and knowledge,”
the center said in a
statement to QNS. “As of now,
everything has been erased
and refunded.”
According to the center, it
has been a complete devastation
to the Muslim community
where they all gather under
one roof once a year for the
purpose of a spiritual connection
with the lord.
“As of today, we are hoping
that remaining at home can
fill the void we are experiencing
being away from the House
of God. We truly have to turn
our homes into a makeshift
mosque with our family members,
so maybe there’s a reason
this is happening after all,” the
center said.
The center has suspended
all future activities and
prayers until further notice.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com or
by phone at (718) 260–4526.
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