Katelin Gandee | The Laurinburg Exchange
                                At Laurinburg Presbyterian Church, the Rev. D. Robert “Rob” Martin has been learning a new set of skills to by preaching to just to a camera after he began live streaming services.

Katelin Gandee | The Laurinburg Exchange

At Laurinburg Presbyterian Church, the Rev. D. Robert “Rob” Martin has been learning a new set of skills to by preaching to just to a camera after he began live streaming services.

LAURINBURG — From preaching to a congregation and now to a camera, COVID-19 has presented both ups and downs for the Rev. D. Robert “Rob” Martin of Laurinburg Presbyterian Church.

“We went into the shutdown on March 15 and, since that date, we have not had formal worship in the sanctuary,” Martin said. “It has really raised the bar for us on our electronics and now we broadcast our service on Facebook Live … it’s bizarre to be preaching to an empty sanctuary and that’s a challenge.”

Martin added that, before COVID-19, the church had been recording services — but instead of posting the videos live, they were put on a DVD and taken to residents at Scotia Village who were unable to attend services in person.

“The upside to it all is that we have probably quadrupled our worship participation by having it live on Facebook,” Martin said. “So people from our faith community watch that every Sunday, people from other faith communities watch it and people from all over the country watch it as well. So that’s been a positive.

“It’s a really different reality and I don’t necessarily know who these people are, I’m just speaking to a camera,” Martin continued. “It is very different and has caused me to have some different skill sets.”

The church did begin doing more in-person socially distanced worship in the Fellowship Hall as well as an outdoor service.

“When things got a little better we did begin a 9 a.m. service, ‘Worship on the Lawn,’” Martin said. “People brought lawn chairs and people could also park in their cars along the fence … the downside of it has been this terrible sense of isolation for everyone. A faith community, aside from worshipping God, also has a social component which offers support, care and companionship for those who don’t have that at home.”

Martin said it has been very difficult for those seniors as the church has many from Scotia Village, which is on lockdown and not allowing people out of the facility or in to visit. The pandemic has also changed how Martin is able to talk to members of the church who seek him out, going from in-person meetings to phone calls.

“I can’t stand it,” Martin said. “It drives me crazy, although I will say doing phone calls and because of the pandemic you usually end up having a deeper conversation with people than you normally would. When I can I have gone out and see people but from my car. I’ll stand by the car and they’ll come out on their porch and we’ll talk.”

Another change has been funeral services, which has been the change Martin dislikes the most.

“Since the pandemic hit we are not holding memorial services but what we do is graveside services,” Martin said. “Those are limited solely to close family. For many people in our community who have lost people during this time, it’s been hard because they haven’t been able to have that community closure.

“They haven’t been able to gather with their larger circle of friends to grieve their loss,” Martin continued. “That has probably been the hardest thing for me to watch during this time.”

Reach Katelin Gandee at [email protected]. To support The Laurinburg Exchange, subscribe here: https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/subscribe.