On Easter Sunday, April 12, the pews at Clarkdale Baptist Church were empty. Pastor Jesse Liles conducted an Easter service and sermon from inside the building, but none of his parishioners were in the room to hear it.
Instead, 86 people sat in their cars outside in the parking lot, with their radios tuned to 98.1 FM. The church recently purchased a short-range radio transmitter, and has for the past three weeks been broadcasting from the church on Sunday mornings, providing worshippers a chance to participate in the service without the danger of spreading COVID-19 among the congregation.
“I’m happy that we’re able to do something in a difficult time,” CBC Sunday school teacher Kelly Moffit, who acts as the church’s unofficial spokesman, said. “We’re able to fill a need during a time when otherwise people would be feeling lonely and cooped up in their hopes. Instead they’re able to get out in their car and take part in a service along with everybody else.”
“I feel a little bit sad in that I know we have a couple of baptisms scheduled,” Moffit continued. “To us, in our congregation, a Baptist church, baptism is a very public event. It’s a public testimony, so it’s very important to us. But unfortunately, these will have to occur behind the walls, because the baptistry where it will occur is inside, and we won’t have anybody in there to actually witness it in person, but I think it will be aired over the speakers and through the radio station.”
Churches have had to embrace creative methods to keep in touch with their flock in such a dire time, without being able to hold normal church services. Journey Church in Cottonwood has made an effort to ensure that even though congregants cannot attend services, they can still feel like they are a member of the pulpit, even from afar.
“We started recording sermons and devotionals,” Journey Church Executive Pastor Jerry Trewern said. In addition to posting them on Facebook and YouTube, Trewern said that the church is making attempts to interact directly through their website. “There’s an online church platform for online services that we’re using, so people can log in and watch the service, and comment and interact with the service. There’s a public chat on the side as you’re watching the service, so we have people from our staff that are manning that and answering questions, and just saying hi — it’s a chat room basically. And then if people request prayer it takes them to a private chat with one of the individuals.”
Church leaders say they are glad to be able to find a way to make things work, but feel the frustration of having to spend one of the most important times in the Christian calendar away from their flock.
“We want to be a good example,” Moffit said. “We want to be in compliance like everybody else wants to be. We’re not pleased about the whole situation. I can’t imagine anybody saying that they are, but we’re finding ways to meet needs in a difficult time.”
Greeter Jim Jackson handed out toilet paper rolls and Easter cookies to parishioners in their cars.
