How Centre County churches will celebrate Easter Sunday during the coronavirus pandemic
Christians have gathered in Centre County churches for more than 200 years to celebrate Easter Sunday, but the coronavirus pandemic has altered the longstanding tradition.
Gov. Tom Wolf last weekend encouraged alternate forms of religious gatherings that do not physically bring people together, so some opted to worship online through livestreams or social media.
Here’s how some churches are approaching the holiest day on the Christian calendar.
Bell ringing
Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church is taking a page out of Italy’s playbook and is hoping it becomes a community-wide event.
The State College church plans to ring its church bell for one minute at noon Sunday to honor health care workers, public health officials, first responders and others battling the pandemic.
All churches are invited to take part, and those at home are encouraged to ring a bell out of a window or on their front porch.
“We ring out our joy on the holy day. We ring out love. We ring out hope. We ring out thankfulness for all those working so hard and at great personal risk for the rest of us,” the church wrote on Facebook. “At this special time of year, we may be prevented from gathering together, but we are not prevented from celebrating as a community. Spring is in the air. Let’s make sure that hope is in the air too.”
The church moved all of its services online and has hosted a daily morning prayer through Zoom, the Rev. Jeff Packard said. A typical worship service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Sunday via Facebook live.
The church also been sending “way more” emails than normal to keep in touch with its parishioners, Packard said.
The approach was fruitful, as the idea to honor those who are “making life possible for the rest of us” was pitched in an emailed response, Packard said.
“It seemed right to honor those folks and put it out there as an expression of hope that we will get through this and we will be OK,” Packard said. “It’s a stressful time for everybody. Through it all, it becomes even more important to have a community to lean on.”
Drive-in services
Watermarke Church and Brookside Wesleyan each plan to offer a drive-in church service 10 a.m. Sunday.
Watermarke, which does not have a physical location and typically meets at the Bellefonte Area Middle School auditorium, had to pivot after Pennsylvania schools closed their buildings, Pastor Tim Yates said.
He turned to an unlikely source for inspiration: a spring break trip to Florida about 30 years ago.
While in the Sunshine State, Yates found a church that wanted to make its service more accessible to those who were uncomfortable entering.
The idea was distinctive, but “didn’t have a lot of merit up north” because of Pennsylvania’s winters, Yates said. Precautions necessitated by the pandemic, however, made it a practical strategy.
“We thought, ‘Wouldn’t that be great for us since we really have no other alternative to get together?’ ” Yates said. “It helps us to be able to physically be together and celebrate the most important holiday on the Christian calendar, but we’re still adhering by the guidelines from the governor and keeping everyone safe.”
Drayer Physical Therapy, 1680 Zion Road, permitted the church to use its parking lot for the service. A flatbed trailer is set to serve as a stage for the church’s band, and parishioners will be able to listen to the sermon through their vehicle’s radio.
Song sheets are also available on the church’s website and can either be accessed online or printed before the service.
Brookside Wesleyan plans to have a sound system assembled in the church’s parking lot during its service. The church also expects to broadcast the service via radio.
“Even though at the moment we feel like we’re in this darkness that surrounds us, we know that there’s light at the end. We know that one day we’ll overcome this, get back together again and move on with normal life,” Yates said. “We’re looking forward to that, but Easter gives us that glimmer of light in the middle of that darkness.”
Virtual services
Other area churches will be turning to social media to livestream Sunday services.
- St. John Lutheran Church scheduled its services for 9:30 a.m. through Facebook Live. Pastor Will Osman has also curated several Spotify playlists.
- Grace Lutheran Church plans to broadcast its services via radio, and a recorded sermon is scheduled to be uploaded Sunday to its Facebook.
- St. Paul’s United Methodist Church scheduled a sunrise service about 6:15 a.m. through Facebook Live.
- Faith Church plans to have its worship services broadcast through Facebook Live and YouTube about 8:15 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. Sunday.
- St. John’s Episcopal Church and Trinity United Methodist Church are each scheduled to deliver their worship services 10 a.m. Sunday through Facebook Live.
- Resurrection, a congregation of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, offered its parishioners guided household worship plans, which are integrated with sermon livestreams on Facebook and YouTube. The livestreams are scheduled for 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
- St. Paul Lutheran Church’s Easter service is at 10:45 a.m. The Zoom link can be found on its Facebook page.
This story was originally published April 10, 2020 at 2:02 PM.