Sky high gasoline costs are doing more than forcing commuters to dig further down in their pockets.

Churches are jumping on the bandwagon of organizations trying to help commuters save on fuel prices  — and in Baltimore, the Rev. Andrew Connors said he has resorted to biking some days to his duties at Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church.

“I’ve been trying to ride my bike to work at least two days a week and last Sunday I biked as well,” Connors recently told The Examiner.  “[The church] hasn’t had to make changes in its weekday activities because most have been suspended during the summer months. We’ll have to wait though until fall to see if those programs will be negatively affected.”

A spokeswoman for the St. Mary Parish in Annapolis said although church officials have yet to conduct a study to determine how gas prices have affected attendance, so far there’s been no marked decline among its 5,500 families. Because most parishioners live close by, spokeswoman Barbara Kappel said, there is less concern about gas usage and that the situation is also not likely to affect offerings.

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Kate Douglas, 25, who attends services at St. Louis Catholic Church in Clarksville, said there are no choir rehearsals weekdays this summer. “I hear a lot of members complain about the cost of gas and we’ve cut down on some activities,” the Columbia resident said.

Meanwhile, summer attendance is “nontraditionally” up at West Baltimore’s 14,000-member Bethel A.M.E. Church.

“People are not traveling as much on weekends and when they do, a lot are driving within the state,” said Pastor Frank Reid III.

The Rev. Jonathan Hancock, who pastors about 400 people each Sunday at Ebenezer Baptist Church, said his congregation prays about fuel costs.

“We are a people of faith and know that God will take care of our needs so that we don’t have to stand by what OPEC or Wall Street has to say,” Hancock said.

“But that doesn’t mean I leave my car running in the driveway for a half  hour or go to the grocery store for a loaf of bread and then go back and for meat. We have to be prudent in the things we do.”

drowley@baltimoreexaminer.com