SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Latinos across the country have been hard hit by COVID-19, and that trend is playing out at one Hispanic-led church in northern Colorado, where they've had to work especially hard to try to keep congregants safe, partly because local officials aren't enforcing the state's public health orders. Stephanie Daniel from member station KUNC reports.
STEPHANIE DANIEL, BYLINE: It's kind of dark inside this auditorium. The stage is backlit with purple fluorescent lights, and the band is jamming.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
DANIEL: Worshipers are spaced out and wearing masks. They stand and sway to the music or sing along.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Singing in Spanish).
DANIEL: This is Mosaic Church. It's in Weld County, about an hour north of Denver. Angel Flores is Mosaic's live pastor. And today, his message is about the spirit of giving.
ANGEL FLORES: We're going to talk about generosity.
DIANE FLORES: (Speaking Spanish).
FLORES: As he shares a funny anecdote about his bad singing voice, his warm smile grows.
FLORES: But if I sing...
FLORES: (Speaking in Spanish).
FLORES: ...You will worship God.
FLORES: (Speaking in Spanish).
FLORES: I promise you that (laughter).
DANIEL: Angel and his wife Diane are Mexican American. They founded Mosaic Church 13 years ago.
FLORES: And so we strive to make Mosaic as welcoming, unweird, as we can, where you can invite your friends.
DANIEL: The evangelical church has lots of young, working-class families. A year ago, nearly 700 people would come worship on any given Sunday. Then COVID-19 started, and congregants who are first responders or work at meatpacking plants started getting sick.
FLORES: We got a call from a lady in our church who said, Pastor, they're about to intubate me.
DANIEL: Angel and Diane were in the car when the phone rang.
FLORES: And as her pastor, I'm telling her, like, look; it's going to be OK. You're going to be fine. But real talk, you might be meeting the Lord soon. So let's, you know, let me pray with you.
DANIEL: Thankfully, she survived.
During that first wave of coronavirus, about two-dozen congregants got COVID-19 and recovered. But as a precaution, the church shut its doors in mid-March and moved completely online.
FLORES: One of the unique challenges that we had here in Weld County was our commissioners were not - they don't recognize the validity of any of Governor Polis' rules.
DANIEL: Throughout the pandemic, local leaders have not enforced the state's COVID-19 regulations. They've encouraged personal responsibility instead, telling residents and businesses they can decide for themselves which precautions to follow.
Over the summer, Angel and Diane decided to restart in-person services. They were determined to do it safely but didn't know how.
FLORES: We didn't have any guidelines from our local government on how to do this. And so we kind of had to figure it out on our own.
DANIEL: They chose to follow a neighboring county's guidelines. In mid-June, Mosaic began worshipping again in person at a greatly reduced capacity, while continuing to stream the services. They removed every other row of chairs and asked people to leave space between families.
FLORES: We ask everybody to wear masks. We bought gallons of hand sanitizer. We're just trying to manage this the best we can.
DOROTHY MEZA: Mosaic Church has just been a very huge - just support emotionally.
DANIEL: Dorothy Meza has been a member of Mosaic for about four years. She leaned on the church after five of her family members contracted coronavirus. She watched the services on Facebook, but it wasn't the same. She felt adrift.
MEZA: Like if we're in the middle of the ocean with no paddling boards, I guess, you know, like, the church family is like the - they're the ones that help us paddle and stay on track.
DANIEL: Eventually, Meza was able to return to the actual church. Mosaic got into a good weekly routine for about five months. However, church members kept contracting the disease. And Pastor Angel Flores had three of his own family members pass away from COVID-19 in a week. Then this happened.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
FLORES: So I tested positive for COVID.
DANIEL: Angel broke the news in a video message he posted on Facebook. His wife Diane also tested positive, along with several staff members. So in November, the church had to close again. But it did reopen in time for Christmas.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Singing) Hallelujah.
DANIEL: This is the new normal. Mosaic Church continues worshiping both online and in person.
FLORES: I think our main focus during COVID is to provide hope for people, remind them that this will pass.
DANIEL: Even though their ministry has changed, Angel and Diane Flores plan to keep doing what they do, helping people grow their faith while also keeping them safe.
For NPR News, I'm Stephanie Daniel in Denver. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.