ROCHELLE — While the coronavirus pandemic has forced many businesses to either close temporarily or implement work-from-home measures, churches in and around the Hub City are getting creative to continue spreading their faith to local parishioners. 

Facebook has become a popular medium for broadcasting live services, and one local parish taking advantage of social media is St. Patrick Catholic Church in Rochelle. St. Patrick has been using its Facebook page to livestream prayers such as the Divine Mercy Chaplet on a daily basis. Although the church is closed for public services, business manager Leslie Ilkow said the church remains open for individuals who abide by certain social distancing measures.

“It’s Lent season so we are still doing stations of the cross and we livestream those at 6 p.m. on Wednesdays in English and 7 p.m. on Fridays in Spanish,” Ilkow said. “We pray the Divine Mercy at 3 p.m. each day and we livestream that so our parishioners can follow along. We also livestream our Sunday masses. Our church is open to parishioners, but signs are up so they have to obey the rules, such as limiting access to 10 people and staying 6 feet apart.”

Rochelle United Methodist Church is also active on social media, using Facebook to take prayer requests from parishioners and call upon parishioners to spread kindness in the community by writing thoughtful notes to local healthcare workers. The church streams each Sunday mass on its website at http://rochelleumc.com and parishioners can follow along at home online.

First Baptist Church of Rochelle uses its Facebook page to share Bible verses, and the church created a Facebook group titled “Shelter in Place Sunday School” for students to continue learning online. Additionally, the church created a YouTube page, where parishioners can watch sermons and follow the new video series “Looking Toward Easter 2020” as the holiday nears.

St. Paul Lutheran Church in Rochelle will be attempting Facebook Live for this first time on Sunday, with the service beginning at 9 a.m. St. Paul has been broadcasting its services through WRHL every Sunday at 10 a.m. and Pastor Gregory Hoffmann said that St. Paul has activated a phone line to keep parishioners informed with any updates regarding the church.

“We’re trying to do what we can for our congregation while maintaining our social distancing,” Hoffmann said. “Our parish nurse and some of her staff have been sending cards and notes to some of our shut-in or elderly people who are unable to get around. We’ve also expressed that, if anybody in the community has a need to pick up groceries or prescriptions, that they can call our office and we have volunteers who will pick up and deliver those items to them.”

The Bridge Church in Rochelle is finding ways to reach all of its parishioners. Pastor Greg Duncan said he’s posting sermons and Bible study sessions on Facebook, and those who aren’t available on social media are receiving hard copies of each sermon. Duncan also said that he and his wife are taking action, delivering groceries to the elderly among other initiatives.

“The last thing a minister wants to do is cancel church, but we need to use wisdom,” Duncan said. “What I’m instructing our folks to understand that this is the best time to be the church. The people are the church, not the building, and we’re being activated outside the building. We’re encouraging our folks to encourage both themselves and others, whether that’s through making phone calls, sending texts, writing letters, making cards or any other form of communication between the church and the community.”