Parishoners around the world worship online, in vehicles.
With empty pews, faithful worship online, in vehicles
NEW YORK — Christians around the world celebrated Easter Sunday isolated in their homes by the coronavirus while pastors preached the faith’s joyous news of Christ’s resurrection to empty pews. One Florida church drew a large turnout for a drive-in service in a parking lot.
In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the first major world leader to test positive for the virus, was released from a London hospital after a week in which he spent some time in the intensive care unit and was given oxygen at one point. He credited health workers for saving his life and especially thanked two nurses who stood by his bedside for 48 hours “when things could have gone either way.”
The strangeness of this Easter was evident at the Vatican. St. Peter’s Square, where tens of thousands would normally gather to hear Pope Francis, was empty of crowds, ringed by police barricades. Francis celebrated Easter Mass inside the largely vacant basilica,
In his address, the pope called for global solidarity to confront the “epochal challenge” of the pandemic. He urged political leaders to give hope and opportunity to the millions laid off work.
Worldwide, families who normally would attend church in their Easter best and later gather for festive meals instead were hunkered down at home. Police checkpoints in Europe and outside closed churches elsewhere left the faithful with few worship options other than watching services online or on TV.
Some U.S. pastors went ahead with in-person services despite state or local bans on large gatherings.
At the Happy Gospel Church in Bradenton, Florida, about 100 cars carrying 250 people gathered in the parking lot to hear Pastor Bill Bailey’s Easter sermon. Some sat in lawn chairs or on tailgates, but families stayed at least 6 feet apart; those in their cars occasionally honked to convey agreement with Bailey’s remarks.
In Louisiana, a pastor who is facing misdemeanor charges for holding services despite a ban on gatherings said people from every state and all but one continent attended his Easter service Sunday morning.
“My hope is not in a vaccine for a virus, but all my hope is in Jesus,” Rev. Tony Spell said during the service shown online at Life Tabernacle Church in the city of Central, near Baton
Rouge.
President Donald Trump had said he planned to watch an online service led by the Rev. Robert Jeffress of the Southern Baptist megachurch First Baptist Dallas, although the White House wouldn’t confirm whether he did. The pastor, a staunch ally of the president, mentioned Trump in his remarks,
In their own Easter message, Trump and his wife, Melania, paid tribute to medical professionals, first responders and other essential workers striving to combat the pandemic.
On the hopeful side, officials said Italy recorded the lowest number of new coronavirus victims in three weeks, with 431 people dying in the past day to bring its total to 19,899. It was the lowest day-to-day toll since March 19.
As hard-hit countries like Italy and Spain see reduced daily virus infections and deaths, economic pressures are mounting to loosen the tight restrictions on daily life.
Southern Europe and the United States, whose death toll of over 20,600 is now the world’s highest, have been the recent focal points of the pandemic. But coronavirus hot spots have been shifting, with new concerns rising in Japan, Turkey and Britain, where the death toll passed 10,000.
Uncertainties loomed about the months ahead, with a top European Union official suggesting people hold off on making any summer vacation plans.
Some European nations started tentative moves to ease their shutdowns. Spain, which on Sunday reported its lowest daily growth in infections in three weeks, will allow workers in some nonessential industries to return to factories and construction sites Monday.
More than 1.79 million infections have been reported and 110,000 people have died worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. has the highest numbers, with over 530,000 confirmed cases. The figures certainly understate the true size and toll of the pandemic, due to limited testing, uneven counting of the dead and some governments’ desire to play down the extent of outbreaks.
In Britain, where the death toll passed the 10,000 mark, Johnson paid an emotional tribute to the National Health Service workers who treated him ahead of his release Sunday from St. Thomas’ Hospital. His week in the hospital included three nights in the ICU.
In the United States, about half the deaths are in the New York metropolitan area, but hospitalizations are slowing in the state and other indicators suggest lockdowns and social distancing are “flattening the curve” of infections.