Life was full of tests in 2020.

There were tests of relationships, tests of finances — tests of faith.

The covid-19 pandemic touched nearly all parts of life, including religious faith and worship habits. As state officials brought forth restrictions, church leaders were left largely to make their own calls on how to conduct services and events.

In Monroeville, there is a wide range of religious beliefs.

The Monroeville Interfaith Ministerium, a network of faith leaders in the area, shows the municipality offers mosques, temples, synagogues and churches representing Christian, Muslim, Judaism, Hindu Jain, Baha’i and Sikh faiths.

For leaders there, the pandemic has been tough. But it’s also served as a reminder of what faith is all about.

“Not being able to be in person to comfort someone, pray with someone, give them that presence, it’s been extremely difficult,” said the Rev. Scott Gallagher of Garden City United Methodist Church. “It wears on you, and sometimes it doesn’t seem like I can live out my calling from a distance.”

A Pew Research Center survey conducted in April found that the majority of congregations across the nation closed regular worship services to the public.

And although several houses of worship in Monroeville chose to close, there are some that remained open. Houses of worship have been excluded from governmental mandates.

The state Department of Health has said faith institutions are “strongly encouraged to enforce physical distancing and other mitigation measures at their gatherings.”

The Pittsburgh Sikh Gurudwara of the Tri-State Sikh Cultural Society decided to open its doors to the public starting April 12, according to its website. Leaders there did not return a request for comment.

Grace Life Church also has remained open and holds weekly worship services at Gateway High School’s auditorium through a yearlong, $130,000 facility rental agreement with the district. The church came under fire over the summer when district parents said congregants did not adhere to social distancing guidelines and mask wearing. The school board in August narrowly voted in favor of keeping the agreement.

Grace Life Church officials were not immediately available to comment, though its website shows a list of measures being taken in order to adhere to government and health department guidelines.

The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, which includes parishes in Monroeville, resumed in-person Mass in June with restrictions in place, along with requirements to wear masks. The requirements also included not offering communion wine, and parishioners were asked not to share the sign of peace.

A poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in May found that only 9% of Americans think in-person religious services should be permitted without restrictions.

The poll found that 45% of Americans who identify with a religion think in-person services shouldn’t be allowed at all. Evangelical Protestants, however, were found to think in-person services should be allowed in some form — 35% said they should be completely prohibited.

Despite different opinions, a quarter of U.S. adults said their faith became stronger because of the pandemic, while another 47% said their faith hasn’t changed much, the Pew research found.

At Temple David, a Jewish synagogue along Northern Pike, Rabbi Barbara Symons said the approximately 210 households who attend regular services remained steady through the pandemic.

The synagogue has remained closed for in-person services since March. Worship, lectures and services have migrated online, where there have been minor glitches here and there, Symons said.

“We’ve been pretty successful using online resources,” she said, adding the synagogue plans to incorporate hybrid services in the future — with in-person worship also streaming online for those who cannot make it to a service.

“That will make it easier on people who don’t drive at night, or they’re just exhausted at end of day,” Symons said.

Like many houses of worship, the synagogue got creative this year on how to stay connected and maintain a sense of community.

Symons said the synagogue held a “Shofar on the Roof” event in September. Leaders sounded the horn from the roof, signifying the start of the Jewish New Year, as members witnessed it from their cars.

Gallagher, the pastor at Garden City United Methodist Church, said the church planned three different options for its congregants to celebrate Christmas Eve. Churches typically hold services the night before Christmas Day, the holiday observed by most Christians as the birth of Jesus Christ.

Gallagher said the church recorded a service ahead of time to make it available on DVD or through Youtube.

“We’re getting creative,” Gallagher said.

The church also held a drive-in service in its parking lot using a 20-foot outdoor screen. Gallagher’s message was transmitted through FM radios. Gallagher said participants were given a glow stick as a substitute for a candle.

“It’s safer than lighting a candle in a car,” he said.

Gallagher’s church building was closed through August. In September, leadership decided to resume in-person worship services.

“Everyone was spaced out, there was no singing and no physical contact. We did that for a little while,” he said, before switching back to full virtual operations on Nov. 29.

Gallagher said he doesn’t like the word “closed.”

“We closed, but we’re still having worship. The structure is closed. But this is an opportunity to show that church is bigger than the physical (building) we worship in,” he said.

Harilal Patel, a member of the Hindu Jain Temple of Pittsburgh, agreed.

He said the temple closed in March, then reopened for a time to allow a maximum of 15 people inside at a time. It has since closed again.

But the approximately 100 members have remained very active. Collectively, members at the temple have raised more than $25,000 in donations for local food banks and other causes.

“In the early days, there was a little emotional setback for some people. But it’s all routine by now,” Patel said.

He said the lack of visitors to the temple has hurt the bottom line of the building, which is on Illini Drive. No visitors means no revenue, Patel said.

“But something good has come out of this — community. We stick together. And charity has ramped up. People really became charitable,” he said.

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