“Church and community is very much about being together, so online services only met a certain aspect of the need,” Pastor Daniel Klaus told Bushwick Daily.

Klaus is the senior pastor at Ridgewood Baptist Church, which merged with Calvary Life Brooklyn last January. The church now offers in-person services again, though they continue to livestream for those who can’t be physically present.

Houses of worship, which often serve as community centers and places of gathering, were forced to shut their doors during the height of the pandemic. As the city gradually returns to normal, the majority seem to be holding hybrid services, with both in-person and virtual offerings.