Wishing You a Happy and a Safe Easter

As churches across the country prepare for Easter services, religious leaders are now struggling with decisions to obey health recommendations while practicing their rights to religious freedom. In my state of Ohio, the COVID-19 virus is ravaging communities large and small, and people are working very hard to flatten the curve of the rate of infection to stagger the number of new cases over a longer period, so that people have better access to care.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine's new stay-at-home order remains in effect through May 1. The order, while explicitly telling all Ohioans to stay at home unless they are engaged in essential work or activity, ceases operations of all non-essential operations, prohibits all public or private gatherings, and outlines what is considered an essential activity to leave home for.

Church is exempt in the order; however, DeWine offered a strong rebuke to churches like Solid Rock Church that are continuing to meet. He said religious leaders gathering their members are endangering their families and strangers. DeWine said …

“Any pastor who brings people together in close proximity to each other, a large group of people, is making a huge mistake. It is not a Christian thing to do. It’s not in the Judeo-Christian tradition to hurt people.”

To accommodate their parishioners, religious communities across the state are utilizing the various technologies at their disposal, from real-time virtual “gatherings” in Zoom to prerecorded devotions via website portals. Whereas digital initiatives were previously supplemental, they now have become the central means of convening during the pandemic – at least for those adhering to social distancing.

Compliant religious leaders are reminding their congregants that the tenets of religion are best served by not meeting during the coronavirus pandemic. They believe Easter this year is an occasion for charity and empathy toward others. Some are offering the additional instruction that the Easter holiday (the liturgical calendar) is a construct, not something necessarily bound to observance on a certain day.

In hard-struck New York, the situation is dire. Rev. Joseph Jude Gannon, the parish priest of St. Gerard Majella, a Roman Catholic church in the Hollis section of Queens, New York, said, “We are a Resurrection people, and the Resurrection is more than just one day.”

Here in Ohio, many Christians understand that their faith is bigger than a physical building, or in the case of drive-in services, bigger than a parking lot, but some communities – like the aforementioned Solid Rock – continue to meet and defy reason.

The Solid Rock Church in Monroe, Ohio (Butler County), issued an official statement saying …

“As Christians we are charged by Jesus Christ to obey the laws of our land. Therefore, if the laws of our nation should ever change with respect to our First Amendment right to assemble, thereby restricting us from having our church doors open, we will willing comply.

“If there has ever been a time in the history of our world when we all need God’s help, it is now. For that reason, we believe that the doors of Solid Rock Church should remain open. It is in these times of crisis that the church should play a critical role as a place of refuge… A place where anyone can come to pray, to worship, and to find healing and hope.”

I am amazed at the insistence of other congregations to invite all community members to public drive-in observances. Such is the case in Beavercreek, Ohio, where four consecutive services will will take place on Easter, tying up public officials for over five hours. Here is the online invite and information:

“With new information and daily changes, we have the assurance that God’s promises never change. The greatest promise was the resurrection of His son on Easter morning! So we will safely celebrate that together with an Easter Drive-In at Be Hope Church – Beavercreek Campus.

“With approval from the State of Ohio Health Department, City of Beavercreek Planning Department, Beavercreek Police Department, and the City Manager, we are hosting an outdoor, Easter service drive-in at 9am, 10:30am, 12pm, and 1:30pm.

“You and your family can experience the HOPE of Christ’s resurrection with us from the safety of your own car as we celebrate Easter together. To fully enjoy this unique, drive-in experience, please enter 1850 N. Fairfield Rd. (Beavercreek Campus) at the traffic light. Our parking lot greeters will direct you where to park.

“Everyone is asked to remain in their vehicle for the duration of the service so we can ensure our community’s health and safety.

We have spots for 100 vehicles per service. Click the button below to reserve your spot. You may also watch online at live.behope.church.

I wish everyone a happy Easter. I also wish everyone a safe Easter – that observance requires social distancing, obeying the order of your state, and taking every possible consideration for your fellow human beings. If that means rescheduling services for later in the year or canceling services altogether, then so be it. There are many viable alternatives to meeting face-to-face or even car-to-car on Easter Sunday. These are drastic times like we have never seen before. They require some drastic measures. A single life saved by sheltering in place is a precious gift of grace and understanding.

People opposing public gatherings and congregations of crowds during Easter are not heathens or atheists: they simple want to insure that the public won't break health rules and create unneeded complications. They want to cut down on the spread of the virus, to reduce the unnecessary heavy traffic, to leave public servants free to respond to emergencies, and to guarantee all people are safe from accidental and unsuspecting dangers. In short, this Easter we must be willing to make important sacrifices to heal a very sick nation.

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

(Matthew 18:20 ESV )