Middle GA churches prepare for modified Easter services. What to know before you go
Last Easter, with the coronavirus pandemic in full swing, Middle Georgia churches had to keep their doors closed.
“It was very difficult from a pastoral and a congregational standpoint. Easter is the Super Bowl for the Christian church. So, not being able to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus in that traditional format that we’re used to was very difficult for a lot of people,” said Pastor Paul Little of Bibb Mount Zion Baptist Church.
Bibb Mount Zion held a virtual Easter service in 2020, the in the church’s history, Little said. But this year, with millions of Georgians vaccinated, many Middle Georgia churches are holding in-person services, albeit with some COVID-19 imposed restrictions.
Bibb Mount Zion leaders planned a drive-in church service at Henderson Stadium on Anthony Road. They plan to practice social distancing and ask attendees to remain in their vehicles until they receive instructions to get out of their vehicles, he said.
“We’ll have opportunities for people to hear the Word of God to be able to experience some hope,” he said. “There’s really a global grief that people are experiencing so… we believe it’s about offering hope. It’s about offering people a sense of love and compassion, and that’s exactly what Christ and the Christian church is all about, so we’re happy to offer this opportunity to our community.”
The church will also post a virtual service to its Facebook page, YouTube account, app and website, he said.
“We think about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus being the foundation of our faith, and again it’s about salvation. It’s about hope. It’s about love. It’s about grace, and it’s about bringing people together for that celebration to talk about the death, burial, resurrection of Christ,” he said. “With all that we’ve had going on in our world, people can surely use some hope, and we’re looking forward to offer some hope and some encouragement to people during this time.”
Maintaining tradition
Although the Rev. Nita Crump became the senior pastor at Mulberry Street United Methodist Church in June 2020, she said she believes every church congregation experienced the same emotions when they were not able to celebrate Easter in person.
“Easter is the highest, holiest Sunday of the year,” she said. “To not be able to gather was heartbreaking and just did not feel right.”
However, Mulberry Street United Methodist Church will host several services this Easter including the Coleman Hill nondenominational sunrise service.
“I can tell you that it feels so good this year to be able to plan for Easter and to be able to plan for a sunrise service and to know that we’re going to be able to celebrate the most wonderful Sunday of the year together this year,” she said.
The sunrise service, which has been a tradition in Macon for more than 100 years, will start at 7 a.m., and church leaders are asking people to wear masks and socially distance. They are also asking people in the audience to refrain from singing.
“To be able to watch the sun rise from Coleman Hill to watch it come up over the horizon and illuminate Macon, it’s an amazing symbol of what it means to say that Jesus rose from the dead and walked out of the tomb and brought light to the world, so we watch the sunrise and recognize that as the sun rises, Christ rose, and that gives us hope,” she said.
The church will host three additional services in their sanctuary at 8:30 a.m., 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. As they do on other Sunday services, volunteers will take temperatures and require masks and social distancing. Bows will be placed on pews to help people space out, and the congregation is asked to refrain from singing as well.
In addition to their normal guidelines for Sunday services, church leaders are asking people to register for a service on Easter Sunday in order to ensure they won’t have too many people.
If the three services fill up, Crump said they will have another service so that they won’t have to turn people away.
The church will also post a virtual Sunday service on Easter for those who do not want to attend in person.
“We have all been in a situation that none of us were prepared for that has completely disrupted normal. I think that it has called all of us to rethink what we do, how we live our lives, what we consider important and not important,” she said. “There is hope for the future because God is still in control even in the middle of a pandemic, and the resurrection and the sunrise on Easter proves that.”
Other church services and events
First Presbyterian Church, at 682 Mulberry Street, will host Easter on the Lawn, an outdoor Easter service, for the first time. The service starts at 10 a.m., but people can arrive at 9:30 a.m. for muffins, coffee and fellowship. People should bring their own chairs, and if it rains, the church will host services indoors at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Beulahland Bible Church is hosting a drive-in service at the Georgia National Fairgrounds on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Vineville Baptist Church will have an Easter service at 10:45 a.m. in person and online.
Tremont Temple Baptist Church, at 5263 Bloomfield Road, is hosting a drive-thru Easter bag giveaway on Saturday at 11 a.m. The church is also hosting a drive-thru service on Sunday at 10:45 a.m.
First Baptist Church of Christ is hosting a worship and communion service in High Street Park on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. On Good Friday, the church will have the sanctuary open for prayer stations with music and reflection from 5:30-7 p.m. On Sunday, the church will have a worship service in the parking lot at 10 a.m. followed by an Easter egg hunt in High Street Park.
If you would like to submit a church service to The Telegraph, email breaking@macon.com