ORLANDO, Fla. – As Florida approaches its first weekend since the beginning phase of state’s reopening process, some houses of worship are getting ready to offer in-person services for the first time since the shutdown. However, not every location is ready to reopen.
Roderick Zak is pastor at Rejoice in the Lord Ministries in Apopka. He devised a plan for when his church might return to in-person services, but for now, he said it’s just too soon, despite Mother’s Day this Sunday.
"We’re optimistic and full of faith, but we’d rather exercise caution," said Pastor Zak. "We want to make sure that health, safety, and well-being is the priority."
Part of Zak’s reopening will include social distancing and possibly requiring people to wear masks. He said he also might limit the amount of signing from his congregation.
“You’re talking about first responders. I might have some police officers, I might have some healthcare professionals, all of those [people] in the same place,” Zak said.
Zak is also on the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force. He said he’s been relying on his faith, even through this storm.
“We can transcend what’s happening on the outside, inward we can experience peace,” Zak said.
However, there are other pastors throughout Central Florida who plan to reopen this Sunday - at least for Mother’s Day service.
"We’re getting a lot of calls from the mothers, they want to come in with their kids and everything," said Stovelleo Stovall.
Stovall is Pastor at God is Able Outreach in Orlando. He said he’s opening his doors this Sunday, but plans to do safely, including limiting capacity.
“Christmas, Mother’s Day and Easter is a time that people really want to go to church,” said Stovall.
He also said his bottom line has been affected since having to host church services online.
Mayor Jerry Demings is hosting a virtual town hall from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on May 14 for every house of worship to learn best practices and guidelines to safely reopen.