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Restore holds services at Anson Park

T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM - Ryan Trosen, the children’s pastor and connecting pastor for Restore Church, speaks to the congregation about the importance of healing strained relationships and helping people who have been broken through injustice.

The Restore Church in Marshalltown held an in-person service for the first time since March 15 — when the COVID-19 pandemic began.

On Sunday, close to 40 Restore congregation members gathered at Anson Park to celebrate their faith and see their church family once again.

Ryan Trosen, the connecting pastor at Restore, said many church members have said they want to return. Trosen also was looking forward to reuniting with people.

“For me, it has to do with community during this COVID-19 time,” he said. “A lot of people want the ability to see people and connect with people in their faith community, which was taken from us. They want to be where they can come back and see people they care about. A lot of celebration and grief happens at a service.”

Grieving is something that has been stressful for members of his congregation. Trosen said many have not been able to properly grieve because of the restrictions put in place by COVID-19.

T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM - Around 40 people attended the first in-person service of Restore Church on Sunday. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the church has mostly held online services and to help with further social distancing, church leaders got permission to hold service at Anson Park.

“A lot of people have suffered loss,” he said. “They need to be at a place where they can be with people they care about. Being in people’s presence, singing and sharing moments with people is important for those who feel they are missing a sense of community; they have been isolated for so long.”

Luckily, Trosen said he has not heard of any congregations members who are dealing with wavering faith. The Restore Church has been able to connect with people through changing services to an online platform, which has been a big thing for them.

Now that people can return to church in an outdoor setting, Trosen said leaders will continue to keep an eye on COVID-19 numbers.

People who attend services are asked to maintain social distancing and Restore does provide masks and hand sanitizer. There are no restrictions on the number of people who can attend — at least not until Restore moves to an indoor setting.

Trosen said the outdoor services will be held through the month of July every Sunday at 10:45 a.m. In the event of inclement weather, service will be canceled.

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.

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