In churches across the nation this past Easter Sunday, the pews were empty. So too was the tomb after Jesus rose from the dead to save us from our sins. That is the message that many clergy offered their parishioners last week as they found themselves celebrating one of the most important religious holidays without stepping foot into a church because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
“We celebrated Holy Week with regularly scheduled worship via Facebook Live. One of the most difficult decisions was to not celebrate Holy Communion,” said Pastor Jason Cooper of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Eagle Grove. “This has been a topic our denomination has been quickly thinking through theologically. In short we are encouraged to fast together. Options such as drive thru, I feel violate the request for all of us to stay at home to lessen the spread.”
He added that he knows it is “easy to make exceptions for all kinds of reasons ie: “I just need an ice cream fix.” etc.,” but with his own wife receiving chemo, he is taking isolation very seriously.
Pastor Jim Roth of the Eagle Grove United Methodist Church said that when he first got word from the Bishop on March 14 to cancel all church activities, he prayed for three hours.
“During my personal devotion and prayer time the following Sunday (March 22), I stopped and paused when I read in the Bishop’s weekly address a mention of “drive-in” worship services. Then and there I decided to have us experiment and experience one the following Sunday as a conclusion to my Lent Sermon Series (Silent Witnesses),” said Roth.
Seven vehicles gathered in their parking lot March 29. The United Methodist Church continued to experiment and experience “Drive-In” Sunday Services on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday (followed by an impromptu car parade around Eagle Grove), in accordance with the guidelines of the Wright County Public Health Department and the IA-UMC Bishop’s office.
“I am grateful for Jon Rowen (proprietor of “J & J Sports” 118 W. Broadway St.) for the loan of his FM transmitter gizmo which has allowed the parking lot attendees to tune in the service on their car radios,” Roth said. “Likewise, I am grateful for Melody Amonson (who video uploaded the Easter Sunday Service for “live-streaming”) and for Yalonda Amonson (who created an inspirational video from the hundred cell phone photos I took). “Much obliged” as well to all the participants of our 24-hour Good Friday Prayer Vigil.” Pastor John Nett of the Eagle Grove Grace Evangelical Free Church (GEFC) said he didn’t prepare his Easter message any differently knowing there would not be people in the pew Sunday morning, but instead, live-streaming.
“The message of Easter is the Resurrection of Jesus and the life that have through faith in Him. That hasn’t changed and Coronavirus can’t change it! It might make the message of the Resurrection more pertinent. I’ve heard people mention these “uncertain times” at several points in the last few weeks. The Truth is life is no more uncertain now than it has ever been. We live day to day with a very thin veneer of what we would like to call certainty. Something like Coronavirus just strips that veneer away so that we can see that life is very tenuous. Anything, any day could disrupt what we think of as certainty so that our lives are turned upside down. The message of the Cross speaks to this…God promises life through faith in Jesus and that life is secured in Jesus’ death and resurrection. That message is unchanging; it brings certainty where there is none and a confidence to live and serve and love God and our neighbor trusting in that promise,” Nett said.
GEFC also challenged their people to post their own story of faith in Jesus online with the hashtag #JesusChangedMyLife, borrowed from another congregation who came up with the idea.
Although they knew there would be no parishioners at Church for Easter service, they decided to go ahead and decorate the church for Easter
Since the palms and the Easter lilies had already been ordered, Sacred Heart Catholic Church went ahead and decorated the inside of the church both for Palm Sunday (of which they had 577 live-streaming views), and Easter in an effort to make the church feel more “normal” during visits. Although no formal masses have been offered, the church has remained open for people to come in and pray individually. There hasn’t been a concern about needing to separate, or to limit the number coming in, since there have never been more than 10 people visiting the church at a time. Both the door and the sanctuary are monitored by cameras including the ability to hear what is happening in the church.
For many years, the weekend mass has been recorded and shown through the EG cable channel. Since COVID-19, the have begun live-streaming. Sacred Heart has also published lists of other places that offer the mass, the rosary, and other common prayers, such as on EWTN, or Word On Fire.
“All of those broadcasts have been popular, and the positive comments about being able to watch “our” priest say mass have been wonderful,” said Nancy Strub.
Pastor Gina Sterk of New Hope in Eagle Grove/South Enes in Vincent, and Trinity Lutheran in Webster City said they, too, have been live-streaming services. Her message this Easter, however, was a little different than any other Easter message she has given. “In a way, this Easter was more like the very first Easter, without all the bells and whistles we may be used to. However, I preached that there are still always signs of new life and resurrection in our midst. They may not be the ones we are used to, but Christ is still risen, and the good news of Easter morning is perhaps more important for us to hear and proclaim now than ever, as we face a time of global crisis,” she preached.
I would dare to say that every high school in Iowa has someone who they know makes it to every single home sports event all year long and every year. It might be a parent, grandparent or even great-grandparent. Then again, they might not have any kids involved at all but simply love watching sports and especially love to support the student-athletes in whatever way they can. You maybe could call the person a ‘superfan’, and Jim Toillion certainly fits the bill in that regard. You have no doubt seen him at many, if not all, home events, and likely several on the road. He always has a Tootsie Pop waiting to hand out, but more importantly, his support of the Eagle student-athletes is readily apparent.
Toillion followed his graduation from EGHS with two years of junior college here. That was followed by going to Buena Vista where he played basketball and baseball. He’s a lifelong Eagle Grove resident, except for a three-year stint in Los Angeles while working for the Union Pacific railroad.
“Before I left California, I started running to lose weight,” he said. When he got back to his home town, he was running at the track when he had a chance meeting with Jack Middleton.
“Jack got interested in running too, and we began training and running marathons,” said Toillion. “This was before running was really popular and the towns people thought we were a little nutty. After running 34 marathons, I tend to agree!”
When it comes to his thoughts on the current pandemic, which has shut down schools and sports, he admits it’s ‘really strange.’ “It’s like it can’t be happening, and it happened so quickly,” said Toillion. “I would encourage the student-athletes to continue working, even though school and sports are temporarily suspended.”
He feels bad for the seniors who will miss out on the track season and possibly even softball and baseball (note-no decision made on that just yet).
“I would remind them to keep working to be ready, whether it be academically or in sports so they can do their best,” he said. “When it comes to college, there are so many scholarships available to those who really want to work at it.”
He is trying, as many of us are, to stay optimistic that this crisis will soon be over. In the meantime, he and his wife have been walking or biking nearly every day.
“Exercise and fresh air is good for both physical and mental health,” he said.
Toillion loves all sports, and really misses attending the Eagle Grove events as well as those of his grandkids. To help on the latter, he and his wife have been FaceTiming with their children and grandchildren. They are able to talk to their granddaughter that lives here, but at a safe distance.
“We’ve been cleaning and doing things that we’ve always meant to get done someday,” said Toillion. “Most of all, we have faith that God will see us through all of this, and will actually strengthen our faith in Jesus and help us as a community to be more giving and serving to others.”
Well said Jim!
