‘It feels so wonderful’
Church leaders express Easter optimism
An Oklahoma City church had an outdoor Easter worship service in 2021 that was so popular that the house of worship will host a similar service on Sunday.
Putnam City Baptist Church’s “Easter Outdoors” will bring the church’s congregation together for a worship service at 10:30 a.m. on the church’s lawn, 11401 N Rockwell.
“It’s the perfect venue and setting,” said the Rev. Bill Hulse, the church’s senior pastor.
He said the outdoor holiday service is one of the more positive results of the time during the COVID-19 pandemic, when health officials said large in-person gatherings held indoors were not recommended because of the potential for spreading the virus.
“I don’t want to take the verse out of context but certainly scripture teaches that God works all things together for the good for those who love the Lord,” Hulse said. “COVID had a lot of negative things that came our way but God even worked that together to show us some unique ways of ministering to people and experiencing life.”
Local church leaders like Hulse are preparing for the coming holiday with renewed hope as COVID cases appear to be decreasing.
Signs that the pandemic might be on the wane have brought some cautious optimism. After all, things are a far cry from 2020, when most Christian houses of worship were closed on Resurrection Sunday.
Hulse and ministers at Northeast Missionary Baptist Church and St. Luke’s United Methodist Church discussed their plans for an Easter Sunday that may mark a seasonal of renewal for many church goers in more ways than one.
Hulse said Putnam City Baptist’s outdoor holiday service is patterned after “Lawn Chair Church” which the church debuted in 2020.
“Our outdoor ‘Lawn Chair Church’ ended up being a really neat experience,” he said. “In fact, we picked up a lot of connections and members from our neighborhood that we hadn’t even touched yet.”
When the church’s 2021 “Easter on the Lawn” proved just as popular, church leaders thought it would be good to host the same type of service again.
“Our people love doing that. We have two services now and this allows us to celebrate as one body,” Hulse said. “The outdoors is a safer space, a bigger space but it’s also just beautiful and a way to celebrate the new life we have in Christ and the new life that’s coming this spring.”
Three churches come together
The Rev. Michael McDaniel said his congregation at Northeast Missionary Baptist Church will once again join with two other churches, Tabitha Baptist Church and Paradise Baptist Church, this Easter Sunday.
He said the trio of churches will have a virtual sunrise service at 6 a.m., featuring prayer, a pre-recorded message from him and praise and worship from a combined team of worship leaders representing the three churches. McDaniel said the sunrise service will be available for viewing on each church’s Facebook platforms.
The churches would typically gather in person for the sunrise service at one of the three houses of worship prior to the pandemic. The congregations would enjoy a breakfast after the service, as well. McDaniel said this year’s virtual service is a way for the three churches to continue their Easter fellowship.
As for other Easter Sunday services, McDaniel said each of the three churches will have their own in-person services. He said Northeast Missionary Baptist’s Easter service will be in person at 10 a.m. at the church, 3815 N Bartell Road in Forest Park, and it will be broadcast live on 92.1 1140 AM Radio.
McDaniel will be asking his congregation and visitors to wear masks during the service.
“We’re super excited to have it but still want to be cautious and careful so we’ve pretty much advised people to move at their comfort level,” he said. “We still have several people who don’t want to come back but we have several people who do.”
The pastor said free cotton candy and cinnamon rolls, along with children’s activities, will be offered after the service.
Like Hulse, McDaniel said he thinks his church gained parishioners and converts to the Christian faith in the last two years of the global pandemic and that is a good thing.
“I just believe church is still significant in people’s lives,” he said.
An Easter of overflow
The Rev. Bob Long, senior pastor of St. Luke’s United Methodist, is sure of one thing: There will be large crowds at St. Luke’s downtown, 222 NW 15, and St. Luke’s Edmond this holiday.
Long said two Palm Sunday worship services at the Edmond satellite, 900 Sooner Road, drew such large crowds that an overflow area had to be arranged.
“We were seeing numbers last week that we had not seen since the pandemic, so that was wonderful to already see that ... and we’re seeing the same thing downtown,” Long said. “There’s no question that people are hungering for being back in fellowship again and worshipping together again.”
He estimated that the Easter Sunday crowd, with the addition of online worshippers, will be at least 50 percent larger than one that attended the same holiday service before the pandemic.
Church leaders have marveled at the way people from across the country have been connecting to St. Luke’s in increasing numbers during the pandemic. He said the ministry’s reach increased and their mission efforts like delivering meals to older adults “exploded.”
“We do more after-school ministry, more food ministry than ever before,” he said. “It was a challenging time to live through because we had to be innovative and creative figure to figure out how do we stay connected and how do we grow in our faith and be in mission.”
Long said St. Luke’s is in a good place heading into Easter.
“It feels so wonderful to be able to come back,” he said. “We’re a much stronger, more diverse church than ever before. There’s something special about being able to see everybody smile and everyone wants to stand around and visit, give you a hug.”
Long said he’s come a long way from that Sunday in March when the church closed its doors due to COVID.
“We learned a lot through this pandemic,” he said.
“We’re called to bring hope into the world and to share God’s love. It’s wonderful to see how God has led us.”