Faith, family and community — all three are important to longtime Great Bend residents Laverne and Ann Lessor. The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t changed that, but it has changed how they spent their time for most of the last year.

The pandemic has forced the Lessors, both in their 80s, to stay home a lot since last March. They try to limit trips to the grocery store to once or twice a month instead of weekly. They couldn’t go to church for several months, but by Thanksgiving they were able to go to St. Patrick Catholic Church at noon on Wednesdays and on Friday mornings