Whatcom County churches begin to reopen with Phase 1 social distancing guidelines

Some Whatcom County churches will begin to conditionally reopen for services this Sunday, May 31, following Gov. Jay Inslee’s announcement Wednesday, May 27, with new coronavirus safety guidelines.

In an online sample of Whatcom churches, opening this Sunday for attendees are: Bellingham Baptist Church, Grace Church Bellingham, Christ Church Bellingham and Bellingham United Reformed Church.

Bellingham Baptist reopened its building with restrictions on Sunday, May 24, for a service and also held a service on Wednesday night.

The other three churches will be holding their first in-person service in months this Sunday, in parking lots with attendees socially distanced in their cars. Christ Church will be holding its service in the Ferndale High School parking lot on Sunday at 10 a.m.

“We know that in many Washingtonians, their way is the way of the spirit,” Inslee said at Wednesday’s press conference. “We know that people treasure religious gatherings, so this has been a difficult issue about how we simultaneously defeat this virus and maintain our congregations. As I’ve said before, this crisis may affect our physical connections, but we should not allow it to stop our emotional connections.”

As part of Phase 1, churches can host up to 100 people outdoors next to the facility and can hold multiple services per day according to Inslee. Attendees are required to wear masks and follow social distancing guidelines.

Send an email to newsroom@bellinghamherald.com to list your religious organization as now holding services in person.