Looking to attend an Easter service? You might want to check YouTube or Facebook
Churches are expecting larger turnouts this Easter weekend as services go online
Easter church services might look a little different this weekend.
Traditional hymns are being recorded, communion might come from the kitchen fridge and a church service might be in the form of a phone call.
But that won't stop some churches from celebrating the annual holiday.
"The world is changing around us rapidly, but the story of Easter doesn't change," said Drew Mersereau, senior pastor of Cherryfield Baptist Church in Moncton.
Mersereau said Good Friday and Easter Sunday services will be held over Zoom chat, so his congregation can connect and talk with one another.
The church typically sees about 50 people, and up to 30 of them use the online service.
That being said, there are still a lot of people in the church who don't have internet access, particularly seniors. So church goers have been taking it upon themselves to call one another to wish one another a happy Easter.
"I wouldn't choose it to be this way," he said.
"I would rather be together in the church building but there are some rich things happening in our church, despite the fact that this Easter is going to be incredibly different."
Province urges people to stay home
This week, Premier Blaine Higgs and Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health, have been warning residents to avoid family and church gatherings over Easter weekend.
It would be tragic to see an upsurge in cases next week if New Brunswickers ignore the advice of Public Health to stay home and choose instead to gather over Easter weekend, Russell said.
"You may think, 'It's just my family,' or 'It's just my friends.' But the COVID-19 virus may be an uninvited guest at your table, brought along by someone who has only mild symptoms, or no symptoms at all. Do not let that happen."
Taking communion at home
Stephen McLean, lead pastor of Moncton Victory Church, said his congregation has been pre-recording their Easter weekend church services. The recordings are sent to an editor and meshed together for a Facebook Live, where hundreds of people have been gathering to watch.
"It's almost like a bad situation has turned into a great opportunity."
On Good Friday, families will be encouraged to take communion out of their homes.
Communion is a Christian sacrament where bread and wine or juice are consumed as a reflection of Christ's death.
"They have their juice and crackers and whatever they have that way," he said.
People have enough negative news, which is the reality we're living. But in the middle of it we still want to celebrate the good things- Verner Drost, lead pastor at Smythe Street Church
Geoffrey Hall, Dean of Fredericton, said he's seen a lot more people joining Christ Church Cathedral's Sunday church services on YouTube.
About 250 people attend the Fredericton church on Sunday mornings but online broadcasts will receive up to 1,000 views from across the diocese.
And Hall expects Easter Sunday won't be any different.
"It's a matter of learning new ways and doing things differently."
Easter is 'a rich, rich time'
Although the church is trying to find ways to be creative in the pandemic, Hall said he's still disappointed church goers won't be able to celebrate Easter together in person.
"You can't do it justice really, even with the high level of technology that we might try to use," he said.
"It's a rich, rich time and it's sad we can't actually walk through that in real-time and with each other."
Verner Drost, lead pastor of Smythe Street Church in Fredericton will be hosting a worship service on Facebook Live or YouTube, which people can hook up to their television screens at home.
The service will have worship songs from a small group of band members, who will stand three metres apart.
"People have enough negative news, which is the reality we're living," he said. "But in the middle of it we still want to celebrate the good things."
This Easter weekend, he said, it's important families know they're not alone even though they're living at home in isolation.
"We're really just trying to connect with our people."
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