For Christians, Easter weekend is the most significant period of the religious calendar. But with ongoing restrictions on gatherings due to COVID-19, churches in Airdrie will observe the holiday differently this year.
“Easter is really the time when the culmination of the purpose of [Jesus] arrival was accomplished,” said Doug Phaneuf, lead pastor of Living Springs Christian Fellowship. “Good Friday is the day that we recognize that he was crucified, even though he had done no wrong, and he died for our sins. And Easter Sunday is the day that we celebrate that he rose from the dead, showing that he has conquered death.”
Typically, churches see increased attendance from people who don’t normally attend, and planning for services is extensive – Phaneuf said his team had been working on its Easter weekend activities since January. Now, due to the coronavirus, that planning has gone out the window.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many churches have turned to the Internet to continuing offering services to their members. Easter Sunday – and for some churches, Good Friday – will be no different.
DayBreak Community Church, according to Pastor Tim Callaway, will offer pre-recorded Good Friday and Easter Sunday services. Due to limits on gatherings, some traditional components of the service will be incorporated but may look different from years past.
“A number of our people have expressed a desire to have the Lord’s Supper,” Callaway said. “Often, the Lord’s Supper is referred to as Communion, and Communion of course comes from the word ‘community,’ so we’re looking now at what that means by way of online community.”
DayBreak is encouraging members of the church to pick up Communion elements – bread and wine or grape juice – so that they can participate from home.
Phaneuf said Living Springs is offering a simplified version of the Stations of the Cross – a Christian tradition where a person walks through and reflects on stations corresponding with different points during the Biblical account of Jesus’ death and resurrection – scattered at locations throughout the city. Phaneuf emphasized the church is asking its members to continue adhering to social distancing rules and wait patiently if someone is already at one of the stations.
The church will also offer a virtual version of the Stations of the Cross through its website, and will an online Easter Sunday service with accompanying packets for members to pick up.
“The packet is going to have some stuff for them to do on Easter Sunday after [the service], but also some things that are going to relate to the livestream that we’re doing,” he said.
In a letter dated March 27 to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary – which includes Airdrie – Bishop William McGrattan outlined the diocese’s plan. On April 9, he will celebrate the Mass of Chrism with a blessing of Holy Oils in St. Mary’s Cathedral. Once public masses resume, a Mass of Thanksgiving will be held by McGrattan with all the priests, where the oils will be distributed.
He will also celebrate a Holy Thursday mass, a Good Friday service, a simplified Easter Vigil and an Easter Sunday mass at the cathedral, which will all be live streamed at catholicyyc.ca
“I am providing you with this information so that you may be able to anticipate what is being planned and to help you prepare spiritually and communally as you enter the Sacred Week as the ‘domestic church’ gathered in your homes within the parishes of the Diocese of Calgary,” he wrote.
McGrattan noted the suspension of public masses has been challenging on the Catholic community in the region, with some understanding and appreciating the reasons behind the decision and others advocating the resumption of mass.
“In all these, I recognize the desire of each person to encounter Christ in the Eucharist,” McGrattan wrote. “Please remember, however, that while regularly scheduled public masses have been suspended, the priests and I have been offering daily and privately the Holy Mass for you and the world.”
Easter is typically a celebratory moment for Christians, but Phaneuf said the mood may be more subdued this year as families are confined to their homes. Despite that, he said the message of Easter – of hope and life triumphing over death – is needed this year as much as ever.
“My hope is that we can still celebrate, we can still rejoice, we can still enjoy the day together online, virtually, we can still enjoy remembering why we celebrate this day, and we can take some time to think about how its meaning impacts the season that we’re in right now.
Callaway concurred, pointing out that the week leading up to Easter is referred often referred to as Passion Week. According to the Biblical account of Easter, Jesus and his disciples experienced fear, anxiety, uncertainty and grief during Passion week he said – the same emotions many are currently feeling because of COVID-19 – which adds a degree of poignancy to the holiday this year.
“There’s a lot of frustration and even some amount of anxiety I think a lot of people are feeling because of the uncertainty of how long this is going to last and just the limitations that it imposes on us,” he said. “Trying look at it from a positive perspective, I say Passion Week is about emotion. Our Lord went through the whole range of human emotions.”
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Ben Sherick, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @BenSherick
