The hope of Easter resonates more than ever for Christians after a long, hard year battling the coronavirus pandemic, local pastors say.
Each year, Christians gather to celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. This Easter, another type of rebirth is happening as more and more churchgoers return to in-person services. For many, this Easter signals a fresh start. Still, some churches are keeping their doors closed for a little while longer.
Throughout the pandemic, local pastors went online and expanded their digital footprint further than they ever thought possible. They did this while simultaneously expanding ministries to combat increased food insecurity and economic imbalance that shuttered businesses brought.
“People ask what it was like when we closed down, but we never really closed down,” said Matt Giebler, senior minister at Greenwood Christian Church. “Even when our staff was at home and our services went online, we were still there. We were still a church.”
Pastors saw their outreach make a difference and keep the congregation together even without four walls and a steeple for support. Preaching to a camera was challenging, but online messages drew more to watch than traditional in-person services had.
The pandemic reinforced their thought that church is more than a building.
“We learned that the church is not just a building. The church is a group that goes beyond walls,” said Danny Anderson, lead pastor at Emmanuel Church. “The church can still help people find Christ and be a blessing to the community.”
All churches, with the exception of those that hosted outdoor services, had virtual-only services last Easter. Some also got creative and offered drive-thru communion, gave away lilies or offered other tokens of the season.
This year, most local churches will worship in person again as they have been doing for months.
Emmanuel — across four campuses in Franklin, Greenwood and Indianapolis and one virtual church — has planned 19 services this weekend to facilitate safer worship.
Though Emmanuel has been seeing about half its usual in-person attendance at about 3,000 per Sunday across the campuses, Anderson knew that number could be twice as much on Easter, based on past years.
A typical Easter would draw about 10,000 to worship at the church’s four locations, but attendance this year is unpredictable, Anderson said. The assumption is about half of those who attend the church will do so virtually, he said.
Those who attend in-person services are required to wear a mask and be seated in every other row for social distancing purposes, Anderson said. Seats and other high-touch areas will also be cleaned between services and sanitizing stations will be available, he said.
Being back in person for Easter provides a human connection that was missing last year and reinforces the message of hope and new beginnings, Anderson said.
“It feels exciting (to be back) because the message of the cross and the message of hope is more important than ever given the last year we have been through,” Anderson said. “To be able to gather on Easter is special because we are able to gather together; maybe no hug, maybe no handshake, but it is important to be together.”
Greenwood Christian Church has also added an additional service and additional cleaning in response to the pandemic, Giebler said. Easter services will be the same format, but a little shorter than normal and allow for fewer attendees than normal due to social distancing recommendations, he said.
Giebler, too, has a rough expectation that in-person attendance will double. Some at the church have talked about Easter as a time they want to start coming back, for a fresh start, he said.
Overall attendance is steadily ticking up as more people are vaccinated, Giebler said, adding “every Sunday feels like a family reunion.”
Still, others are biding their time to see what impact spring break and March Madness will have on case counts and positivity rates. The typical Sunday draws about 600 in person, and 700 to 800 online, Giebler said.
Not all churches will have in-person services this Easter.
Grace United Methodist Church of Franklin returned to virtual services Dec. 1, and will remain virtual for most of this month, said Andy Kinsey, lead pastor.
Kinsey never expected to be in the same boat this year as last Easter. Then, the expectation was that church would be back in session in a few weeks.
But those weeks turned into months, and in-person services resumed initially in mid-June, Kinsey said.
However, when cases and hospitalizations escalated after Thanksgiving gatherings, the church took another step back and has remained that way. A few, small three- to five-person Bible study groups meet at the church, but no large-scale services are available, he said.
As Easter rolls around again, Holy Week services have been offered all week virtually and have reached more people than ever before due to the online format, he said.
Even if he won’t see their faces this Easter, Kinsey looks forward to the day everyone will be back together.
“Ultimately the message of hope and grace is more needed than ever,” Kinsey said. “There is a sense of isolation and people are wanting to come back to something and see that there is a new start.”
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“To be able to gather on Easter is special because we are able to gather together; maybe no hug, maybe no handshake, but it is important to be together.”
— Danny Anderson, lead pastor, Emmanuel Church
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