Pandemic forces churches to reimagine the way they celebrate Easter Sunday

Posted 4/11/20

Rev. Jarett Kerbel of St. Martin-in-the-Fields by Sue Ann Rybak After Governor Tom Wolf issued a stay-at-home order to help stop the spread of COVID-19, churches in our area had to reimagine the way …

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Pandemic forces churches to reimagine the way they celebrate Easter Sunday

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Rev. Jarett Kerbel of St. Martin-in-the-Fields

by Sue Ann Rybak

After Governor Tom Wolf issued a stay-at-home order to help stop the spread of COVID-19, churches in our area had to reimagine the way they celebrate Easter Sunday.

“How do you spread Easter Joy if you can’t have people come into the building?” Rev. Jarrett Kerbel, rector of Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, asked me on the phone.

He said the answer was simple: you do something fun.

“The pandemic means if we want to share the good news and hope [of the resurrection], we have to be creative," Kerbel said.

Like many churches across the state, all of the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields’ Easter services will be online and open to the public. However, this year, the church is offering two unique worship opportunities.

"We are going to have a sunrise service, which is something I always wanted to do," said Kerbel. "And Easter morning, we are going to have live bagpipes in front of the church.”

Kerbel said at 9:30 a.m., in front of the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 8000 St. Martins Ln. in Chestnut Hill, he and two bagpipers are going to march up Willow Grove Avenue playing Easter hymns. 

“The great thing about bagpipes is they are very loud,” he said.

He added they don’t want an audience. The church wants people to watch safely online from their homes. Of course, if you live on that block, you can look out your window. 

Initially, Kerbel admitted he was worried that having prayer services online would feel "cold or distant." Instead, he said, it feels like the church has created "a real spiritual connection and warmth through Facebook and Zoom." 

He said, one of their biggest surprises came when they started doing morning prayer on social media.

“Every day on Zoom and Facebook Live, it has been getting 32-34 people every day,” he said. “That’s incredible. It used to be a group of eight people who met in our chapel. To me, it’s evidence that people are looking for spiritual support and community. It has made us think about whether we want to keep doing this once the pandemic is over.”

Rev. John Wilkinson, pastor of The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, 8855 Germantown Ave. in Chestnut Hill,  also said they are worshiping remotely using Zoom, social media and other technology. Wilkinson said his staff including choir has been working remotely from their home. He is the only one in the church for services. Anything that would normally happen in the building is canceled.

“Obviously, this is not the way we would worship,” he said. “We are just trying to make the best of a difficult situation and stay connected.”

Wilkinson said he thinks members of the congregation are grateful to be able to see other members' faces, hear their voices and stay connected. He said the church is trying to involve different members of their congregation in services. For example, he said on Good Friday, seven members of their parish participated “in telling the Passion story from their home.”

“We are trying to find the right balance of authentic and accessible, but it’s also not a television broadcast either, and our parishioners know that," he said. "Afterwards, we can think about the long-term production. For now, we are just learning as we go.

"Easter Sunday, we are having some music live; also, we have a lot of video from earlier choral efforts that we are dropping in because we don’t want to bring a choral together especially around Easter Sunday."

Rev. Jay Mitchell, the pastor of Christ Ascension Lutheran Church, 8300 Germantown Ave. in Chestnut Hill, said they are also using technology such as Zoom, social media, and pre-recorded services on their website at christascension.org. He said, now more than ever, people seek spiritual guidance. 

"A link is posted every morning to our Facebook page, which allows folks to call in," he said. "We had some folks call in from as far away as Massachusetts to join us for worship. So, we have been able to expand who we worship with.”

“We also realize that not everybody has the capacity for Zoom, or some folks, one more Zoom meeting isn’t going to cut it,” he said.

So, the church offers a pre-recorded service on their website. He said one of the things people miss about having an in-person service was seeing the other person.

“Everybody, myself included, is disappointed that we can’t worship in person,” Mitchell said. “Sometimes, the way that we show ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ is in an empty sanctuary.”

“One of the most famous stories we tell in the church is the story of the disciples in a locked room, and Jesus saying, ‘Peace be with you.’ There’s still peace to be given.

“There's still hope. In some ways, we are celebrating Easter more like the first Easter than perhaps we ever have in our lifetime. The very first Easter took place behind locked doors. It didn’t have fanfare and trumpets. It had scared people not knowing what tomorrow was going to look like, and Jesus shows up and says, ‘I got it.’”

Mitchell said this Easter when people may be feeling anxious and isolated, Christians need to remember the angel’s words “Don’t be afraid.”

This article was updated on April 11. 

community, coronavirus