Eudora churches get creative with Holy Week services

Area religious leaders are finding new ways to celebrate Holy Week this year as services adapt to going online.

BY CHRIS FORTUNE

Churches in Eudora will continue to stream their services online as Holy Week begins and are developing new ways to interact with members while following state shelter-in-place orders.

The Rev. Josh Monhollon of Eudora Baptist Church said his church is continuing to be creative and adding new features to its online services.

“For Easter, church members will be shooting home videos explaining why they are grateful for the resurrection,” he said. “Videos will be compiled together to air with our online service. We want to stay connected and encourage one another during this time of social distancing.”

Social distancing has played a part in Monhollon’s services moving exclusively online as he stressed the church’s commitment to keeping the community safe.

“Our commitment to the safety of our congregation and the well-being of the surrounding community requires that we set the bar high in caring for others in these days of uncertainty and trouble,” he said.

The Rev. Jerry Mercer of Hesper Friends Church said in a Facebook post earlier this week there would be no church services until further notice. He had hoped to do a drive-in church service for Easter, but said Tuesday the Health Department discouraged the idea.

The Rev. Mike Scully of the Holy Family Catholic Church said services will continue to be streamed online, including at 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

“We will be live streaming by means of Facebook,” he said. “Services will be the same, but there will be no distribution of palms.”

At the Eudora Church of Christ, the Rev. Randy Watson is broadcasting his services on Facebook as well, but there were recently a couple of people at the church who attended the service in-person because they didn’t use the internet or Facebook.

Members of the Eudora Church of Christ communicated with Watson to find out who would benefit the most from attending the in-person services.

“Since the order restricted gatherings of more than 10 with the shelter-at-home ordinance, we obviously had to make more adjustments,” he said. “Last Sunday we had seven [people] spread out through the chapel and others observed online and sang with us using hymnals at home and took communion together with us virtually.”

The Rev. Jeremiah Holcomb said the Refuge Christian Church will be streaming its service on Facebook and YouTube.

The Rev. Ross Baker of Eudora United Methodist Church plans to have online worship services throughout Holy Week beginning on Palm Sunday, and will have resources available for those who might not be able to access online services.

Although it is difficult to come together at this time, Baker said this church is celebrating how everyone is connected and what this season means for everyone.

“There is recognition that this is different and we acknowledge that, but at the same time we hold on to the hope found in Christ and in that time when we will come back together --whenever that might be,” he said. “On that day, it will most certainly be an Easter Sunday celebration as well.”

Reach reporter Chris Fortune at eudoratimes@gmaill.com.

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