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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.