How Western Pa. religious leaders are altering Easter sermons during coronavirus pandemic

Father Tom Gramc used to spend entire days surrounded by people and parishioners. He went from preaching morning Mass to hearing afternoon confessions to visiting grade schools in the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

Yet as Easter approaches, he spends his days in Zoom meetings or fielding calls and emails from parishioners, one after another. They are community members experiencing crises of faith. They’re afraid, Gramc said.

“I think the biggest thing that I miss is saying Mass for people, being able to really celebrate the sacraments with the community,” said Gramc, parochial vicar of St. Bernard Church in Mt. Lebanon and chaplain of Seton La Salle High School. “I think there is something so powerful about when we are gathered in prayer … and I really do miss community prayer.”

The covid-19 pandemic has forced the closure of churches, prompting hundreds of parishioners and members of the faith community to make drastic changes to the way they worship in a time of unprecedented uncertainty — and during Holy Week, which Christians regard as the most significant observance in their faith.

Clergy members are left with their hands tied.

“This is not a normal Easter,” said the Rev. Felicia Brock of First Baptist in Tarentum.

Shehas taken every opportunity in her virtual sermons to offer comfort amid social isolation. That message was echoed for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, and will be for Easter Sunday, she said.

“People are scared,” she said. “They are discouraged. They are alone. They need to hear that it is going to be OK.”

In the last month, virtually every place of worship in Western Pennsylvania altered the way it deals with worshippers. The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg canceled Masses, locked down all buildings and canceled all Lenten fish fries. The Pittsburgh diocese is using a priest hotline and other ministries to encourage parishioners. In preparation for Easter, the diocese has streamed Masses and prayers every day this week, with special services online Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

Church communities across Western Pennsylvania have implemented similar changes, and leaders of the faith community have echoed Gramc’s despair at the lack of physical connection. It’s a significant change, to alter so much about the way worship is carried out — but it’s necessary to protect their congregations, leaders said.

Shadyside Presbyterian Church has been closed since March 17. The congregation had never used online tools to stream services before but quickly had to learn. A task force of church staff quickly put together a template for online worship services, incorporating a slideshow with photography and music.

The Rev. John Dalles, interim senior pastor, said the goal was to make the service as authentic as possible, as if the congregant were still sitting in a pew.

“There’s a lot of sensitivity to how worship feels,” he said.

Shadyside Presbyterian held special online services for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, and will for Easter. On Maundy Thursday, congregants were encouraged to participate in Communion in their own homes, while a minister performed the blessing via livestream.

Not every congregation has been so lucky. The Rev. Frank Yesko at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Brackenridge said his small church isn’t “technologically prepared” to livestream services. He has been communicating to members with lots of phone calls and emails. For Easter Sunday, Yesko plans to share his message through a written letter to the congregation.

His sermon, he said, will focus on the lessons a community can learn during this time — realizing how precious relationships are and the importance of a spiritual connection with God.

“Jesus stated He will never leave or forsake us,” Yesko said. “There is a good that’s going to come out of this.”

Dalles is grateful his Shadyside church can meet virtually, but he knows it’s not the same, and he knows that many in the congregation are feeling frightened and lonely. The church staff and volunteers are doing what they can — frequently connecting with members via telephone, organizing a virtual coffee hour after worship.

As a minister, Dalles said he misses Sunday morning conversations, the hugs and handshakes, the ability to connect with people in person. Fellowship is an integral part of building a faith community, he said.

Nearby, the Rev. Ross Carmichael at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Shadyside said the same thing. Services have been online since March 15, he said, operating through Facebook Live, YouTube and Zoom. But Carmichael felt “torn” when he couldn’t visit a sick parishioner in the hospital, or stop by after a baby was born.

“It is very different trying to be a pastor when you can’t be present in the same way,” Carmichael said.

Carmichael posted short devotional videos online for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, and he will livestream worship Easter Sunday.

Cornerstone Ministries in Murrysville has livestreamed services throughout Holy Week, including a communion service Maundy Thursday. But come Easter Sunday, there will be a “drive-in” service. Congregants will gather at the church, but won’t leave their cars, the Rev. Donn Chapman said.

“Our people want to come together and celebrate,” Chapman said.

The effect of isolation and the economic impact of the stay-at-home order could have lasting effects on the faith community, said the Rev. John Welch, vice president of community engagement at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in East Liberty.

Welch has seen many of his community engagement efforts — a few lecture series, a ministry focused on home rehab and ownership and several others — suspended amid the pandemic.

In the long term, even after public restrictions are lifted, Welch fears many houses of worship will not have the skill set or resources to respond to the lasting trauma.

“That will be the shadow following us,” Welch said. “If we don’t address it, it’s going to have outcomes and impacts unforeseen.”

Gramc, who is in self-quarantine after testing negative for covid-19, said there is comfort to be had. The church is more than 2,000 years old, he said, and has survived a lot of plagues. Faith leaders throughout the Pittsburgh region stressed they are continuing to communicate with and pray for their congregations, albeit virtually.

“God is my rock and my salvation,” Gramc said, quoting the Psalms. “God remains the same while everything else changes.”