Americans celebrate socially distant Easter
Americans celebrate socially distant Easter
U.S. church leaders peppered their Easter homilies with references to the coronavirus on Sunday, in masses held online, on television and even in parking lots to people sheltering in cars to maintain social distancing during the pandemic.
Gavino Garay has more.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW YORK CITY CARDINAL TIMOTHY DOLAN SAYING: "I ask this pascal morning, could the empty tomb of Easter be a metaphor for our world and our lives?" That's New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, holding an empty Easter Mass at the iconic St.
Patrick's Cathedral.
U.S. religious institutions like this one have been forced to adjust their services as the world's largest Christian population safely celebrates the holiest day on the Christian calendar.
Easter Sunday Service this year at the National Cathedral, too, was unlike any before.
Normally packed pews, completely empty.
A single organist, and singer, at social distances, performing in this year's virtual service.
NAT SOUND SINGING/ORGANIST/EMPTY PEWS Health authorities across the United States have broadly asked residents to avoid gathering in large numbers, leading to the closure of schools, businesses and churches.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) ABRAHAM LANKFORD, PASTOR, JESUS' CHURCH INTERNATIONAL, SAYING: "God doesn't want us just to go back to normal.
He wants us to go back to him.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah"" In Cambridge, Maryland, Reuters caught a glimpse of a socially distant drive-thru Easter service hosted by Jesus' Church International, where worshipers sang and prayed from the safety of their cars.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) ANN DAMIANOS, CAMBRIDGE RESIDENT WHO ATTENDED THE SERVICE, SAYING: "It's good to know that, you know, you can come together.
It doesn't have to be in a church.
It's the spirit." In other cities across America, the Easter Bunny visited quarantined children in socially distant neighborhood parades, like this one in Solana Beach, California.
In La Crosse, Wisconsin, a chiropractor and a non-governmental organization teamed up to hand out donated easter baskets to kids, who would normally participate in Easter egg hunts, to keep the spirit alive this year, even if it's bittersweet.
