CONTRIBUTED PHOTO - Pastor Jack Mithelman of Elim Lutheran Church delivers communion to a church member during a drive-in service.

Churches in Marshalltown have innovated to keep connected with congregations during the pandemic, with special events planned for the holiday season.

The Elim Lutheran Church stopped holding in-person services in March when COVID-19 hit. Since then, the church has held brief communion services in their parking lot along with broadcasting a weekly service on local radio station KFJB.

Winter weather has halted drive-in communion for now, but the church is preparing a special radio broadcast Christmas Eve. The pre-recorded service is done by a masked and socially distanced small group inside the church’s sanctuary, recorded over a length of time and at different locations to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread.

In addition to the church’s usual Christmas Eve service complete with carols and lessons, two separate stories involving children and adults of the church will be told over the broadcast. Near the end of the service a number of Christmas blessings and greetings will be delivered in other languages spoken in Marshalltown, such as Spanish, Oromo and Amharic.

Pastor Jack Mithelman of Elim Lutheran Church said they have taken a more cautious approach as they have a generally older congregation.

“We all wish for something different, but we all realize this is necessary,” Mithelman said.

The church has no plans to return to in-person services until next March at the earliest, depending on the development of a COVID-19 vaccine. The pressure to innovate and deliver an accessible service during the pandemic Mithelman says is wearying.

“Everyone, whether they are aware of it or not, is suffering from this and much of it could have been averted,” Mithelman said. “A great deal of what we are being forced to go through now is because people have not heeded common sense precautions to protect themselves and to protect others around them. I would be remiss if I did not also say that there were certainly choices that could have been made by elected leaders who chose not to act.”

Elder Jim Gossett of Marshalltown Central Christian Church is taking on the challenge of doing an online service, working towards setting up a live broadcast in time for Christmas Eve. The candle-lit service is usually the church’s biggest of the year, and Gossett hopes members getting the opportunity to see the sanctuary during an online service will help the holiday feel more normal.

Broadcasting a live service online gives the church an opportunity to reach people outside of their congregation and attract unlikely churchgoers.

“I know some fairly small congregations that have had many more people viewing their online service than there would normally be people in one of their sanctuaries,” Gossett said.

Marshalltown Central Christian Church has not met in-person since March, but began drive-in church service in June. Members would bring their own communion elements and listen to the service broadcast on an FM frequency through headsets. The drive-in services brought in 30 to 35 cars weekly, Gossett said.

New Hope Christian Church has planned a “Finding Peace” community Christmas service featuring a live nativity scene and music taking place at the Y Cultural Center gymnasium with multiple event times starting Dec. 20. The in-person event is mask only and socially distanced, with limited free tickets to keep the event from becoming crowded.

The church has been holding in-person services along with online services, but the goal of their “Finding Peace” event is to bring the entire community together.

“People have been cooped up for so long, we just need to be reminded of where our peace comes from,” New Hope Christian Church Pastor Kerry Jech said.