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Coronavirus News: Communities come together to prepare for very different Easter

Friday, April 10, 2020

Communities come together to prepare for very different Easter

Lauren Glassberg explores how a handful of Easter traditions have been modified in the age of social distancing

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Christians are mark Good Friday in isolation amid the coronavirus outbreak, all while preparing to celebrate a very different Easter Sunday, when worshipers will be able to take part in services at St. Patrick's Cathedral without leaving their homes.

A parking lot may not be the most inspirational place, but it's where some congregants will gather and pray this Easter.

Pastor Jeff Quinn of the Bedford Community Church says to think of as a drive-in theater, where congregants will remain in their cars and lower their windows to hear the service. He'll be standing on a median, and cars will be parked 9 feet apart for social distancing.

"We are calling our Easter Sunday 'Come as you are, stay in your car,'" he said. "It's the Sunday when we commemorate hope, newness of life, and it's a celebration that calls us to be together to the extent that is wise these days."

Drive-by bunny visits and from-a-distance egg hunts are the new norm. On Long Island, there's the drive-able Huntington Egg Hunt Trail, with painted eggs dotting the road connecting Cold Spring Harbor Village and Centerport.

And in North Rockland County, windows are filling up with Easter eggs.

Jessica Robinson and her sons pushed the idea on Facebook, and now, some 800 families in six towns are participating in the interactive egg hunt.

"The map shows you which streets the eggs are posted," Robinson said.. "So you have to go to that street and look on that street for the eggs you can find."

Even during challenging times, there is a sense of holiday hope created through community.

"It's exciting to see bridges that are built and cooperation taking place hopefully that will outlast a temporary set of dark days," Pastor Quinn said.