Virtual ceremonies will mark a very different Easter

THOUSANDS of Christians throughout Tyrone will be marking Easter in a very different virtual manner over the coming days as local churches prepare to stream a range of services online.

Recent weeks have seen churches from all denominations adopt innovative ways of linking with their communities, and this again will be the case during Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday.

Easter, of course, is the highpoint of the Christian calendar, but the restrictions imposed as a result of the coronavirus mean that church buildings remain closed to congregations.

In Cappagh Parish, Fr Kevin McElhennon PP said they would be continuing to try and hold people ‘in Communion’ with a range of services during the coming days.

“Easter is at the very centre of our faith, and we are marking and celebrating the fact that Christ rose from the dead in a virtual sense this year. But the important thing is that people are still part of the church community and are holding in Communion with each other,” he said.

“In the past few weeks, it has been important for us as churches to maintain our unity in faith. Obviously people are very pained by the fact that the church buildings are closed, but in the circumstances it is about still trying to reach them even though our faith communities are not physically present.

“What is happening now goes against the grain of how a church is community. However, we are still part of that community and the only difference at the moment is that it is a virtual one.”

Fr McElhennon estimates that around 1,500-2,000 people daily have been logging onto Masses, the Rosary and other services in Cappagh, and that this figure has risen to around 5,000 who tune into weekend Mass.

In an joint message for Holy Week, the Church of Ireland Archbishop-elect, John McDowell and Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, Dr Eamon Martin, said that what was once familiar has become unfamiliar.

“We are now in so many ways cut off from our normal routine and way of living,” they said. “Family and friends are isolated and kept apart, with doors closed to keep out an unseen enemy. Every day we search for good news and some sort of light upon the horizon.

“When he rose from the dead on that first Easter morning, the risen Christ brought the light of hope into the darkness of despair. The Easter story may being in the darkness, but it ends in the light.

“Despite the uncertainty, suffering and grief caused by the pandemic, the Lord is near. We must never give up hope. His spirit is with us as sons and daughters of the resurrection.

People all over Ireland are also being encouraged to place a light in their windows on Holy Saturday night at 9pm to pay tribute to those ‘keeping us going through these dark times.”

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