Local Christian places of worship are now in Holy Week, a time which culminates this Sunday with Easter.

Traditionally, it is a time for family, faith and fellowship, but, due to social distancing, this Easter will be a decidedly different experience for faith communities.

“We're now into a Holy Week like no other in any of our lived experience,” says Lorraine Newton-Comar, Co-Pastor of Aurora United Church (AUC). “If you're 100-years-old or less, you will not have had any experience like this. This Holy Week feels rather strange but, at the same time, hopeful.”
Over the weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, both Lorraine and co-pastor Andy Comar have felt a sense of “hopefulness” amongst their congregation and this is something they hope to build upon this weekend as Christians worship in any way they can.

Since March 22, AUC leaders have been broadcasting their sermons online, filmed in their family room by one of their sons, edited by a member of the congregation, and incorporating music and other media created by parishioners.

Their efforts have gained a following not only among the AUC faithful, but viewers across Canada.

“The response has been really good,” says Andy. “Once you're out there, friends share it with their friends and family and people are watching.”

“As preachers, we have had a lot of time to think about the kind of messaging that we want to convey, especially in such an odd time,” adds Lorraine. “What I will be writing for [this Sunday] is what I have been saying in these past few weeks: staying connected and keeping connected. We have really tried to keep people connected and connecting.

“One thing we're hearing from people this Easter, which our own family is going to do, is have a Zoom family gathering on Easter Sunday and that is about staying connected and reminding each other that we are connected even still, beyond our separateness. Easter is a reminder of our connectiveness to each other and God.”

Staying connected is also the focus of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church.

Our Lady of Grace (OLG) has been undergoing extensive renovations since last summer, so the congregation is no stranger to adapting to challenging circumstances.

While they don't currently have the capability of streaming their masses, they are looking at other ways for their parishioners to stay engaged and connected.

“We're in the middle of construction here and we don't have the technology that we will have when everything is done, so we're looking at having spoken messages from each of our pastoral team members online on Facebook,” says OLG pastor Fr. Frank McDevitt. “As we sit here with essentially not a lot to do because schools are closed, nursing homes are closed and the hospitals are restricted, where we would normally be available we've decided to just start calling parishioners and we have been doing that for about a week and a half, which is a very interesting exercise. Everyone wants to talk and every call I make ends up in a really decent chat.

“Our message is to hang in there. It is a strange time, but it is a sacred time. A lot of people are feeling very strongly the sense of loss in not being able to go to church on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, and I totally get that, but one of the things I remind people is not having a priest to say mass is not just a common experience, they live this year in and year out in Northern Canada, parts of South America and other parts of the world where there is a shortage of clergy. People have to depend on what they can do themselves, especially with reading sacred scripture, and they do.”

Similarly, Trinity Anglican Church does currently have the capacity to take live services online, but they are pre-recording a service for parishioners that will be available online this Sunday – and they are also taking things outside of the virtual sanctuary, providing families with tips for an Easter Sunrise Breakfast and Easter Morning Scavenger Hunt.

“The Scavenger Hunt shares some highlights of the Easter Story while children are having fun looking for their next clue,” says Trinity's Rev. Karen Hatch. “Our sermons and homilies are still audio recorded and posted on our website and Facebook page, which is getting a lot of traffic because we have been putting on a mixture of sacred things as well as funny things.

“This is definitely a different time. I think we're finding ourselves moving through that Holy Week of Good Friday journey to the hope of the resurrection of Easter. Even though we're apart physically, we're still together spiritually. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, so the message of God never changes, but the circumstances we find ourselves in change.”

By Brock Weir