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Easter
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2020-04-17
Pastoring through a Pandemic
It’s Saturday night, March 21, and my son and I have spent pretty much all day creating an iMovie Sunday morning worship service for my two congregations. Now we can’t figure out how to upload it from Aidan’s school-issued computer onto YouTube. This is the first time I’ve had to do this all online. I call Allysen, a teacher in the school district and a member of one of my churches. She suggests I try putting it on a flash drive. It’s 11:55 p.m. My son’s computer is set to turn off at midnight and won’t open up again until 6 a.m. I frantically run downstairs and search for a flash drive in an attempt to transfer the iMovie of the worship service from his computer to mine. My kitchen drawers are a mess. I can’t find a flash drive. I can never find anything when I need it in my disaster of a house. On Facebook Messenger Allysen says, “Just sleep for now and do it in the morning. Your church goers should be a forgiving lot even if it isn’t ready right at 8:30 a.m.” I can’t go to sleep. In a world where nothing is going right, where everything has changed, where this is the first opportunity to prove that I can adapt and lead and be of help to the congregations I love as we navigate these unchartered waters, I need this to happen. I realize my iPhone has iMovie on it. It’s 12:10 a.m. when I open a new “project” and begin to import all the pieces I originally worked with on Aidan’s computer. The video clips of Mom and Jill singing the hymns; the video of Allysen reading scripture (the video that had taken hours to download via Google drive); the short little clip of the Smorstad family sharing the peace, sweet twin boys—age 9 months—giggling and drooling. God, I miss them all. Aidan had told me it would be too difficult to add the words of the hymns to the screen, but I do it. At 1 a.m. I figure out how to add photos of the hymns as cutaways to the movie. I discover this by mistake. I’m pressing buttons without knowing what I’m doing. I swear it feels like the Spirit has given me the button I need. I forget to give thanks. I’m too busy making a movie that is somehow also a worship service for two congregations that can no longer meet in person. Seminary has not prepared me for this. I have a YouTube channel only because I had used it to share videos of my sister’s senior trombone recital years before. I had never made an iMovie. Now I’ve made one between the hours of midnight and 3 a.m. It’s done and I’m proud of it. I’ve gone from waking up at 7 a.m. on Friday morning with the idea of including multiple parishioners in the making of the movie—to being ready to upload it to YouTube at 3 a.m. on Sunday morning. In the future, I’ll allow more time. But it won’t make it any easier. For each piece that becomes routine and knowable, another piece becomes a challenge. How to convert files that aren’t allowed by iMovie? Google it. Pay $6 for an app that will do the conversion. Problem solved. How to create hymn files when your mom refuses to keep singing for these worship services? Sister to the rescue. She discovers openhymnal.org. I play the midi file of the hymn through old, donated speakers attached to my work computer, place my iPhone at the perfect distance from the speakers (too close and it’s fuzzy; too far away and it’s too soft—this I learned through much trial and error), hit the voice memo record button on my phone and try my best to have some sort of decent breath support as I sing the public domain hymns that I can include without worrying about copyright infringement. It would help if I could breathe. It would help if I could sleep. It would help if I wasn’t trying to do this, basically, all alone. It would help if I could turn over the movie production to some high school student who loves such things and who could do it all easily and maybe even enjoy it. But now I feel like it’s my job. I think I should be spending more time calling my people, but I can’t seem to manage much calling. Each conversation leaves me absolutely spent. I sob after each goodbye. I miss these people. I don’t want to make phone calls or iMovies. I want to give hugs. I want to talk face to face, leaning in to listen well, holding hands as we pray for hope and healing. The night before Easter I can’t sleep. Awake at 2 a.m., I watch the worship service created by my good friend, a volunteer music director in a neighboring town. The service is beautiful. I love my friend. And I miss her. At 3 a.m. I watch another worship service created by another dear friend, a pastor in my corner of Iowa, skipping ahead to get to her sermon. I’ve already read it, as she asked me two days before for input, but now I get to hear it. Receive it. It’s beautiful. Needed. At 4 a.m. I click on YouTube news and lay in bed listening to death counts. It’s Easter morning. At 5 a.m. I get out of bed and go to church. I’m supposed to join an invitation-only zoom gathering by 5:40 a.m. My computer is sluggish and won’t load the meeting. I hate technology. I hate being so damn dependent on it. Christ can rise from the dead but can’t make this computer do what it’s supposed to do. I finally use my iPhone to connect to the meeting. It’s a gathering of women from around the world, an informal worship service of sorts that grew out of a single Tweet. “How to faithfully celebrate Easter this year: Only women on the Zoom call. Call is scheduled before dawn. We speak only of impossible things that would topple the empire.” It turns out to be the most meaningful Easter worship service I’ve ever experienced. As each woman is called by name—just as Jesus called Mary Magdalene by name in the garden outside the empty tomb—we give our testimony. We talk about where we’ve seen the Lord. I think I’m going to say something about the church in which I grew up. How they used the Bible to tell me women couldn’t pastor—I couldn’t preach—but God said yes! But instead, a song I’ve written comes to mind. And my testimony is this: I know that death is real but it will never be the end. I know the song goes on and dancing feet are powerful. I worship later with my family, watching myself lead worship on the television screen in our living room. I smile at my on-screen self. I can’t help it. I want to dance. -
2020-04-18
Stay off the Beach
Normally the beaches are crowded in April. Covid-19 has closed the beaches. The regulations are enforceable by law. -
2020-04-11
Kentucky governor asks churches to close on Easter; judge overrules Louisville mayor's order to stop drive-in service
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2020-04-10
What Easter Can Teach Us About Suffering
The article disscusses how this church in texas did easter during this pandemic and how they wished they could gather like they usually do. The author also talks about how families gathered on zoom but it is not the same and that is making people sad because they are people who do not have access to the internet. Finally the priest talks about how he is upset they cannot meet but advises other churches to stay home and wait till it gets better. -
04/12/2020
Coping Through Creativity, Part 2: A Colorful Take on Crisis
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been hard to find our footing. With widespread cancellations and closures, social distancing has become the new normal. Easter traditions restored a much-needed sense of familiarity amid the anxiety and upheaval. Annual egg decorating offered the chance to dip into creativity and focus on fun. But even these colorful creations provided a clearer picture of how we’re processing these changes. While the eggs are still dyed, they take on a different message this year and reflect the uncertain time we find ourselves in. #DePaulHST391 -
2020-04-12
Some Churches Fight to Open on Easter Despite Coronavirus Shutdowns
The article is about how because some states have excluded churches from social distancing rules and others haven't, lawsuits are being filed as Church leaders are being charged for holding services violating states rules. Others are fighting for their right to congregate, regardless of the potential harm that could come from such gatherings. It goes on to discuss the disparity between some Govenors views and their legislatures; stating Kansas as an example where the State Supreme Court had to get involved. -
2020-04-12
Easter Has Landed
When I first told my six-year-old that we would be Zoom-ing with family for Easter, he frowned at the idea. Once logged on, he was engaged with them much more than either of us had expected. After we discovered the background options, it became a dress-up party. We stayed on the call for over an hour. This photograph really drives home the feeling of isolation and the reliance upon technology invading our lives. *Kelly Enright, Flagler College -
2020-04-14
Arizona Front Porch Project #7
Local photographers, inspired by other groups around the country, are offering families photo sessions from the safety of their own front porches. The Arizona Front Porch Photographers are offering a portion of the proceeds to local charities. -
04/19/2021
A Year Without Easter
While my family and I were able to celebrate Easter this year, I didn't quite feel the same. Usually, we would have a bunch of our family members over to eat and we would spend most of the day celebrating Easter. This was the first year we didn't do that. We had our dinner, but it kinda just felt like any regular old family dinner. I can't see my grandparents all that much since they are at high risk for the virus. Not only that, but my Aunt would usually bring her family down from Georgia to come celebrate with us, but my Uncle is also at a very high risk due to a kidney transplant. They and their kids would usually come over, and me and my sisters would do our annual Easter egg hunt with them. Of course, they usually get a head start since they're little kids. My sisters and I, however, are practically bloodthirsty about it. We've been doing Easter egg hunts ever since we were little, and we hadn't skipped a year until this one. While I'm optimistic that my family and I will be able to continue as normal next year, you never really know. Who knows how long we might not be able to practice our usual family traditions? We still keep in touch with our family members, but from a distance. This whole situation has really made me realize just how important family is in times of crisis. How we need to support each other, and help each other out. Frankly, if I didn't have my family to support me during times like this, I think I'd go insane. -
04/10/2020
10 About Home: Ways to celebrate Easter during the COVID-19 pandemic
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04/12/2020
States are restricting Easter gatherings amid COVID-19. Churches and lawmakers are pushing back.
The article goes into the response of different states in relation to the Coronavirus. With this, we also get the responses of different church organzations to the quarentine. Most of them are against the idea of temporarily disbanning the church community, and have since been fighting with local judical powers, as well as the supreme court, to overrule th restrictions of self-isolation as it pertains to church gatherings. -
2020-04-12
A West Virginia church spends Easter making masks, other PPE using 3-D printers
In this article, Pastor Travis Lowe, of Crossroads Church in Bluefield, West Virgina, spent Easter with many self- quaratined church-goers, volunteering to make PPE (personal protective equipment) including 3-D printed face shields to support healthcare workers at the local hospital. -
2020-04-12
Pope Francis Says the Coronavirus Is ‘Testing Our Whole Human Family’
In this article, Pope Francis addresses the COVID-19 pandemic. In Vatican City last year, there were "70,000 pilgrims crammed in St. Peters Square in Vatican City" for Easter. This year it was nearly empty. Several artists took photos of the Pope delivering his prayers in and eerie and artful way. -
2006-04-10
Bakersfield churches celebrate Easter in a new way
The premiss of this article is how community members in Bakersfield, California plan on spending Easter holiday with the shutdowns of everything but essential places. Deborah Leary had never missed going to a Good Friday service even when 9/11 took place, has to now watch Good Friday service online due to COVID-19. Many people are relying on live streams for their religious services and believe these times will teach them that they can still get sermons or other religious services by not having to physically attend a place of worship. -
2020-04-12
Celebrating Easter 3
A family celebrates Easter Sunday while following social distancing. -
2020-04-12
Celebrating Easter 2
A family celebrates Easter Sunday while following social distancing. -
2020-04-12
Celebrating Easter 1
A family celebrates Easter Sunday while following social distancing. -
2020-04-12
Happy Birthday and the Fear of Covid19
Today was my dad’s 59th birthday and it was crazy that we couldn’t really celebrate. This whole Covid19 feels like a bad dream or a scary movie to be honest. It is also Easter and it is strange that we couldn’t do our typical events and Easter egg hunt for our nephews. It is so tragic turning on the news and seeing how many people have died from this terrible virus. This whole experience doesn’t even feel real at times. I feel lucky that my family is still safe, but I worry about my brother who has to work every single day surrounded by customers. I fear he will get sick or my sister in law. I am lucky that I have limited contact with people, but my job still requires me to meet others. It is scary how people have also reacted to this event and hoarded so much toilet paper and supplies. I am terrified every time I go to the grocery store to get supplies and food. There is never toilet paper or paper towels. Trying to find certain things such as meat or cheese or even eggs is close to impossible at my local grocery store. It is insane that there is not even a bottle of soap or any Lysol to purchase. I miss my nephews and I miss going to school. I am so lucky compared to so many others, but I am still terrified for the future. This feels like a scary movie or an episode of Doom’s Day Preppers. -
2020-04-12
You must stay home this Easter
Australian Government poster advises people to stay at home over the Easter weekend unless shopping for essentials, exercising, getting medical care, or travelling to work -
2020-04-06
Letterbox art #2: Easter message
Easter message in letterbox art