by Hayley Foran

For many, faith is a firm shoulder to lean on. Celebrating this faith, alongside a community of like-minded individuals, is considered to be the source and summit of Christian life.

New stay-at-home orders have not only shut down local businesses, schools and parks but churches, as well.

As the CDC continues to advise against large gatherings, a new challenge has been posed for communities of faith who thrive off of interaction and engagement. The typical preparations for the Easter season, famed by the Christian faith for rebirth and rejoice, turned solemn as many prepared to be shut out from their places of worship and sanctuary.

The RIT Newman Center offers mass and ministry services to hundreds of students, faculty and local parishioners alike. According to the Newman Community’s Assistant Director, Kim Winden, the adjustments to online and zoom services happened quickly. Although they aren’t the same, they have been wildly successful, lending hope where there was assumed to be none.

“We didn’t want to miss a beat,” said Winden. “After spring break we had a hunch that school would not be reopening and that this would be the end of our traditional approaches, so we started to make new plans right away.”

Over the extended break, Winden tested out several online ministry programs designed to continue reaching RIT students who wished to continue with their faith outside of church.

“Every Tuesday we host ‘hangouts’ on zoom to provide a place for students to casually spend time with each other in the community and get the support they need. We typically start with a prayer or a reading and then everyone can just chat and enjoy themselves,” said Winden.

Sara Wright, President of the RIT Newman Community’s Eboard, has attended several of the hangouts which she finds to be a great opportunity to stay happy and healthy.

“A lot of people need that connection and this is a great opportunity for us to get together, despite what’s going on. These people are like my family,” said Wright.

In addition to Tuesday hangouts, the Newman Community has also arranged several retreats with visiting guests who share their stories and music with attendees; students and families alike. Eboard Vice President, Marcela Lopez, noted that these online provisions have also allowed for intercollegiate collaboration with other schools in the area.

“We’ve had the opportunity to spend more time with people from UR, Fisher and Nazareth. This community is super open and inclusive. That hasn’t changed,” said Lopez. “These opportunities are allowing us to bring faith back into our homes.”

Using online resources is a new concept for many religious groups who depend greatly on face-to-face time. According to Winden, using zoom more regularly to keep people connected has provided a great light at the end of the tunnel for the Newman Community.

“It’s really opened our eyes to just how much we could be doing to keep students engaged and involved even over the summer months. We can make programs that will draw kids in before they even come to RIT and I can’t believe we never thought of that before now,” said Winden.

Father Brian Cool, an administrator of the RIT Newman Community, as well as the University of Rochester, further illustrated that this new situation has proposed great benefits for the church’s recruitment efforts and revealed that the community will utilize new tools to expand their outreach.

“Traditionally we’ve waited to reach out to future students, but now we’re wondering ‘Why are we waiting so long?’ We can use social media to identify students who might be interested and generate more interest than we’ve seen before,” said Fr. Brian.

But all of this does not go without its sentiments. Fr. Brian expressed that this was the first year in 27 that he hadn’t stood before a physical congregation to say Easter Mass, or any mass, since the state went into lockdown.

He sets up now in his living room and delivers mass over zoom. It’s all better than nothing.

“We are all social by nature, we need to be together, but faith is still here – that’s not going away. Even in this mode of panic, faith offers us an opportunity to invite others to gather and reflect on their experiences together. It allows us to figure out as a community how to celebrate both joy and sorrow.”

When the lockdowns have lifted, it is expected that there will still be restrictions on large gatherings so, even as businesses reopen, churches, even those on college campuses, will be faced with the discouraging question of who will be allowed to go to mass and who may be turned away. These are questions that Fr. Brian says there is no answer to yet.

“I believe that when our doors can safely reopen, there will be many people out there who will come looking for answers to bigger existential questions. It’s my hope that we will be in a better place then to articulate and acknowledge those in a way that brings healing. That’s what religious life gives us. Mercy, compassion and healing.”