They lit candles, shared silence and a meditative blessing together. They read the words of an essay from “The Book of Delights,” by Ross Gay, and listened to “One Voice” by The Wailin’ Jennys. They dispersed into groups to reflect on anything the song and the poem may have evoked in them.

Then the 19 people at Family Chapel went back to work, in New York and Chicago and several time zones in between, resuming their Thursday afternoons or mornings.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic came ashore in the United States, traditional houses of worship have moved their worship...