(Chicago Sun Times) At least four churches in Chicago are opting for virtual New Year’s Eve services as the number of coronavirus cases are on the rise — again.
In Bronzeville, the Rev. Chris Harris of Bright Star Church is making services set for New Year’s Eve and the first Sunday of the new year virtual. He also canceled a New Year’s Eve party that the church’s Bright Star Community Outreach organization had planned in downtown Chicago that was expected to draw 700 people, he said.
Harris, who also leads the congregation of St. James Ministries in West Pullman, shifted to virtual worship as he saw how quickly COVID-19 — possibly because of the Omicron variant — has been spreading. Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the state’s top health official, earlier this week said Illinois is seeing the highest surge in coronavirus cases that it’s seen throughout the entire pandemic.