CLOSER TO HOME — Faith leaders talk about the protests that have reached Butler County over the death of George Floyd, the black man who died in Minneapolis police custody.

As Butler County heads into the weekend under Gov. Tom Wolf's green designation, area faith leaders continue exercising caution.

According to members of the Butler Clergy Network — a group of area religious leaders from across a number of Judeo-Christian congregations countywide — the response spans a range of approaches, with all reportedly addressing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

“Each congregation (is) making the decision what is best for them,” said Cantor Michal Gray-Schaffer of Butler's Congregation B'nai Abraham, the county's only Jewish congregation. “We (faith leaders) feel just because we can doesn't mean we should.”

A member of the clergy network, Gray-Schaffer said it was discussed at some length during their monthly meeting earlier this week.

For the Rev. Leigh Benish, pastor of the Hill United Presbyterian Church, reopening is not even a question. A member of her congregation was one of Butler's fatal cases of COVID-19.

“We're sensitive to it,” she said Thursday. “Nobody is in a rush to reopen.”

Benish and Gray-Schaffer both said they have found streaming their services to be very successful.

“I haven't heard any one person, well maybe one, clamoring to meet again in person,” Gray-Schaffer said. “My congregation has fallen in love with Zoom.”

She added that the Zoom services have even added congregants who ordinarily wouldn't be able to make the trip.

According to the Butler Area Catholic Parishes website, Masses also will remain closed to the public this weekend. However, they will offer in-person communion following the online services Saturday evening and Sunday morning.

As a whole, houses of worship are continuing to evaluate options for resuming services with a number targeting July reopening.

The Gospel Life Church in Evans City is among churches that will reopen for services this Sunday according to Baptist Pastor David Trepanier. Like other churches opening throughout the region, he added an additional service time would help reduce attendance at a single service.

“We're asking people to sign up (in advance) so we have an idea of how many will attend,” Trepanier said, adding he expects some parishioners will continue to stay home.

“It's going to be a while before you get churches back to normal numbers,” he said.