WASHINGTON: Christians around the world celebrated an Easter Sunday upended by the coronavirus without the usual crowded church Masses and large family gatherings. Instead, they turned to the internet, television and radio from home to follow services that noted the grave impact of the pandemic. Some found novel ways to mark the holy day. Others still assembled in groups, but took precautions to try to avoid infection.

The virus forced a change in Easter traditions that had even endured wars. Christians in the US contended with a patchwork of limits on how and where they could gather to mark the event.

At the Vatican, St Peters Square was empty of crowds and ringed by police barricades. Pope Francis celebrated Easter Mass inside the largely vacant basilica, calling for solidarity the world over to confront the epochal challenge posed by the coronavirus pandemic. He offered special prayers for the sick, the dead, the elderly, refugees and the poor and assured the faithful that God was still among them.

“We are convinced that he has laid his hand upon us firmly reassuring us: Do not be afraid. I am with you.”

Many states exempted houses of worship from orders curbing communal meetings to help stop the coronavirus from spreading. A few pastors said they would stay open to visitors despite pandemic-fighting guidelines.

But no matter how divergent the celebrations, the message from church leaders around the world remained consistent: prayers for the sick and dead and reassurances of God’s presence.

In New York City, parishioners sang from their balconies and windows as part of an initiative organised online.

“My husband and I went out on the balcony and we belted it out as loud as we could,” said Kathy Keller, of Reedemer Presbyterian Church, who helped launch the Easter singing event.

Keller said people from across the US sent her messages telling her they had joined the event, including a woman in Denver, Colorado, who sang while snow fell outside her window.

“Even if you didn’t hear everyone, God heard everyone,” Keller said.

Drive-in Mass

In the central German city of Hildesheim, around 400 people participated in a drive-in Catholic Mass. People were allowed to take part if they stayed in their cars with the doors and windows closed, listening to the sermon over radio.

A church of the same denomination in the US state of South Carolina also held a drive-in service, but took the additional step of changing it to Saturday because of an expected storm. Gloved volunteers carefully distributed pre-packaged communion packets to families who drove into the YMCA parking lot. While Pastor Matt McGarity preached from the New Testament, cars sporadically honked in agreement. “We felt tonight like we would any Easter morning: joyful, expectant, hopeful,” parishioner Kelly Hills said.

At one of the biggest churches in South Korea, Seoul’s Yoido Full Gospel Church, a small number of masked church followers attended the service broadcast online via website. They were seated noticeably apart from each other to abide by social distancing rules. Choir members also wore masks when they sang hymns.

People also gathered at Happy Gospel Church in the US state of Florida, though they were in the parking lot. Some sat in lawn chairs or on tailgates, but families stayed at least six feet apart - even when Bailey did an altar call.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2020