For many rural Scott County residents, Sunday will mark the first time in their lives that they won’t celebrate Easter in church.
On a day when most pews are normally packed with parishioners, area clergy will instead deliver the message of the Risen Lord in front of empty sanctuaries, to be broadcast on Facebook or prerecorded for YouTube.
Welcome to the world of church in the age of COVID-19.
“I’ve never had to deal with anything like this,” said Monsignor Drake Shafer, of St. Ann’s Catholic Church in rural Long Grove. “I don’t think, that since the 1918 influenza outbreak, the nation or world has either.
“It’s literally breathtaking when I realize that for some people, this will be the first time in their lives to not be in church on Easter Sunday. I’ve been a priest for 48 years, and this will be the first time I haven’t celebrated Easter.”
For Shafer, the moment is even more poignant.
“On a very personal level, I’m retiring in July,” he said. “I never thought my last year as a pastor would not have a joyous Easter service in it, with a congregation that I love.”
Rev. Tiffany McClure is the pastor at Our Savior Presbyterian Church in Argo. Showcasing her sense of humor, she put not having Easter services in perspective.
“I’m not going to lie, but not having Easter services stinks,” she said. “There’s probably another word I could use, but I’m in church right now.
“To be honest, I think we also need to keep in mind right now that the date of Easter changes every year. It doesn’t have to be a date on the calendar. It’s part of who we are as Christians, and what we celebrate.
“God doesn’t care where we celebrate or when we celebrate.”
It’s been a trying few weeks for area pastors as they try to minister to their flocks in times of need, albeit from a distance. Phone calls, texts and emails are the new norm of staying connected, while handshakes, hugs and face-to-face conversations have been put on hold.
The world is filled with uncertainty, and at a time when fear and anxiety appear to reign supreme, pastors are taking the opportunity to preach the message of hope, while in the same breath hoping the pandemic will bring people closer to God.
“We’re trying to make the best of the situation,” said Rev. Scott Pearson, senior pastor at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Eldridge. “It’s a challenge, but at the same time there are tremendous opportunities.
“Easter is a tremendous opportunity for outreach. There are people that would never come to our church building, even on Easter, who would tune in to an online worship service from their home. This is an opportunity to get the good news of Christ’s resurrection out.”
Pearson noted that health experts are predicting that COVID-19 cases will be escalating, and that a growing number of people will be hospitalized, resulting in some deaths.
“People are being confronted with their own mortality, and there is fear, both for themselves and loved ones,” said Pearson. “The timely message to share is Christ’s victory over death, and the eternal life that he makes available for us.
“I think that some people will be open to that message now, more than at any other time in their life.”
Pastor Doug Evenhouse, of Northridge Community Church in Eldridge, said it’s important to look at scripture and be reminded that God is in control, even at times like this.
“I was reading in Romans, and it talks about how God is in control of everything, and everything happens by His power, and everything is for His glory,” he said. “You look at the situation that we’re in, and we have to look at our faith and remember that God’s in control of this thing.
“He’s got power over it, and He’s going to use it for his glory in some way. The challenge is trying to get people to focus on that.”
Pearson is in total agreement.
“I’m focusing on the fact that Jesus is King, and he has power and authority over everything, including power over nature, disease, evil and death,” he said. “He has power over every force causing us anxiety and fear.
“We rest in the fact that God is in heaven, and still on His throne, and that Jesus is seated at his right hand. We can choose to live under his rule and authority, and if we do, we can have hope, and freedom from fear.”
Pastor Carrie LaPlante, of Faith Lutheran Church in Eldridge, said it’s important at times like this to hold on to God’s promises.
“I don’t have an answer as to why this is going on,” she said. “All I can say is that we live in a fallen world, and things happen. There is brokenness in the world, and this disease and virus is part of the brokenness.
“At the end of everything, and in the highs and lows of life, we have to remember that God’s steadfast love always endures, and that God cares for his people.
“Whatever is going on right now, we ought to keep our eyes open to what’s coming out of this,” she continued. “I don’t know what that is, but we need to look at the blessings of each day, and where God is showing up in the midst of this.”
“My message is always the message of Jesus,” said Shafer. “Don’t be afraid. I am with you. While we might feel like we’ve been abandoned by everyone, God has not abandoned us. God is still with us.
“This year, more than ever, at Easter we need to hear the message that indeed God is with us, and that Jesus has risen. No matter what happens, the Lord will remain with us.”
Easter needs to be celebrated
While some congregations across the country have decided to “postpone” Easter, that isn’t the case with area churches.
“I have heard some talk about postponing Easter, but I think everybody around here is in agreement to still do it on Easter Sunday,” said Rev. Peter Hoft, pastor of Park View Lutheran Church and head of the North Scott Clergy Group. “I think everybody’s plan is to do it big and in person when we get back together again.”
LaPlante said that not celebrating Easter would be short-sighted.
“I think that we need to celebrate Easter in the midst of all this,” she said. “We need to remember that Christ has risen, and that Christ is among us. The reality is that every Sunday worship is a celebration of Easter, and a celebration of the Risen Christ.”
“I think we have to emphasize to folks that we really do celebrate Jesus’ resurrection every Sunday, and that Easter is just the day that we commemorate the day that Jesus rose from the grave,” said Courtney Dake, pastor at Eldridge United Methodist Church.
“I think the message we have to remember is that God is with us everywhere we are, and not just in the building where we worship.”
Evenhouse and McClure said they will both deliver an Easter message, but that their congregations will hold big celebrations when the pandemic is over.
“There is a sadness of not being able to preach in front of people on Easter Sunday,” said McClure, “and I think it’s hitting all of us differently. It’s a period of mourning, and there’s grieving right now.
“However, when we are able to meet and get back together, we are going to have the biggest celebration that you’ve ever seen. We’re Presbyterian, and we don’t move a lot, but trust me, I’m going to be dancing, which you don’t see often in a Presbyterian church.”
“There is going to be a time when churches will be able to gather again, and that first Sunday will be kind of like a formal Easter celebration gathering,” said Evenhouse. “I think that because of not being able to worship together, people are now seeing the value of church and gathering together in a way that they haven’t seen before.
“People are recognizing how important community is, and how important it is to gather as Christians.”
Shafer agrees with Evenhouse’s assessment.
“For many people there is a hole in our hearts to not be able to pray together physically,” said Shafer, “and to not be able to celebrate together as Christians, the principle celebration of every year.
“One thing that I hope comes out of this is that we will appreciate what a gift it is that we can come together in our churches.”
How congregations are coping
Cornerstone Baptist
Cornerstone records its worship services each Saturday. The service is loaded onto Facebook for a Watch Party at 10 a.m. on Sunday, and the vimeo video is also posted on the church’s website where members can view it at their convenience.
Pastor Pearson said it’s important to keep in contact with members of the congregation.
“Like most churches, we are being very intentional about congregational care in these days since we can’t meet together in person,” he said. “We’re all rising to the challenge, and establishing congregational care teams of one kind or another, especially making sure our more vulnerable members are being contacted regularly to see if they have needs.
“That’s a positive that I see coming out of this. In some respects, I think we are doing a better job of caring for the vulnerable and keeping in contact with the vulnerable than before.”
Northridge Community Church
Northridge’s recorded services can be found on the church’s YouTube channel, although Evenhouse is looking into doing a possible livestream at some point in time.
“The biggest challenge of this whole thing is not being able to physically touch and see my people,” he said. “Sunday morning is my favorite time of the week. I just miss the handshakes, the hugs and the high-fives.”
Evenhouse said his congregation started a family care ministry about a year ago, after the church had grown to the point where it was getting difficult for him to care for everybody.
“We have 13 elders, and each one has eight to 15 families to care for,” said Evenhouse. “That made it relatively easy for us when this whole thing came down. Within a week, everybody in our congregation, all members and regular attendees, were contacted by our elders to see how they’re doing.
“One of the cool things about his whole thing is the way it has forced the church and Christians to think outside the box in how they can relate with people and love people and minister to people. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens when things get back to normal.”
Eldridge United Methodist Church
Pastor Courtney Dake has been uploading her sermons to YouTube, and said that people have told her that helps them stay connected.
“Still, the toughest part is not having face-to-face contact,” she said. “I have been contacting people via phone and email, just trying to stay connected, but it’s just not the same as being together on Sunday morning.”
Park View Lutheran Church
Pastor Hoft is utilizing the congregation’s YouTube channel to reach out to members. He records a Sunday morning worship service as well as midweek Lenten services.
He also does a “Jesus Time” message for children once a week.
“The hardest part is not being able to offer the Lord’s Supper, because that’s such an integral part of our worship,” he said. “I also miss just visiting people, and having no personal contact and shaking people’s hands.”
Hoft said he’s also making a concerted effort to reach out to members with phone calls, and tries to do at least five a day.
“It’s just very weird to wake up on Sunday morning and make breakfast for my family,” he said. “Since my family helps me record the service, we then watch other services.”
In the past two weeks, Hoft, along with other pastors from across the state, did sit in on conference calls with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Sen. Joni Ernst.
“It was neat to hear the governor speak to pastors, and hear her express her faith,” he said. “There was a point when she got choked up and talked about how she was really moved by all the people who have reached out to her saying they were praying for her. You could tell in her voice how much that meant to her.
“Sen. Ernst mentioned how Psalm 121 is her favorite, and it was nice to hear how our national and state leaders rely on the Bible.”
Faith Lutheran Church, Eldridge
“It’s been a little crazy, but not in a bad way,” said Rev. LaPlante, head pastor at Faith Lutheran in Eldridge. “We are definitely trying to figure out what the new normal is, and what’s the new pattern of life.”
LaPlante has been livestreaming the worship services each Sunday, and also holds high school youth group and confirmation classes via Zoom.
Faith will also livestream Holy Week services, including Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.
“Maundy Thursday is actually the biggest conundrum because that’s the one service that centers around communion, and individual absolution that we can’t do,” said LaPlante.
LaPlante said she’s also cognizant of the fact that not everybody in her faith family is on the Internet and may not be able to join in worship. For those folks, she puts together at-home worship materials so they can have some sense of worship.
Our Savior Presbyterian, Argo
Pastor McClure understands that her parishioners are in various stages of life, and because of that, she has to be intentional in how she ministers to them.
“Our congregation ranges from the very young to senior citizens,” she said. “A lot of our seniors are not on social media, and a lot of them don’t have email.
“I post a sermon every Sunday on our Facebook page, and I then email a copy of the sermon to everybody who has email, and then snail mail a hard copy to everybody in my congregation that I know doesn’t have Facebook, email or social media.
“I hope I’m covering all my bases,” she continued. “I also send out several letters or cards each week to let people know I’m thinking of them, and I’m kind of working my way through the alphabet.”
She’s also spending more time on the phone.
“I’m making a lot more phone calls,” she said. “One thing I will say about this pandemic is that I actually think it’s brought us closer.
“Now, we get to take more time. We have the gift of being able to sit back and have a cup of coffee over the phone with someone. I sometimes think that we forget that is a gift, too.”
St. Ann’s Catholic Church, Long Grove
Msgr. Shafer livestreams Sunday Mass on Facebook at 9:30 a.m. The Mass is produced in the church’s smaller day chapel, and Shafer has placed the pictures of parishioners on the backs of chairs.
“At least I can see the faces of the congregations,” he said.
So far, the congregation has kept the service as a private group as a way to maintain the sense of it being a faith family and keeping its parish identity.
The church will also livestream services on Holy Thursday (5 p.m.) and Good Friday (3 p.m.)