Churches across Canberra are using radical new ways of worship as they wrestle with the cornavirus crisis.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Drive-thru confession, Zoom prayers and online services are some of the new ways for Christians to worship this Easter.
The Presbyterians are planning an online version of a candle-lit service which dates back 1600 years.
Catholics have been confessing sins from their car windows to priests sitting at a safe distance in the porch of churches.
Anglicans plan to broadcast services this coming Sunday - Easter Sunday - even though the two participants were in separate places.
The Horizon Church puts recorded services online but then pastors and congregants join together from their own homes on Zoom to discuss and pray.
READ MORE:
Easter is arguably the most important festival of the year for Christians, marking the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Its importance has prompted the denominations get teched-up.
Perhaps the most innovative change is the drive-thru confession (or reconciliation as it's also called).
In non-virus times (and over centuries), it's been through a grill in a confessional box in church.
Now, though, the priest texts Catholics about his availability. He then waits as parishioners drive up and lower the window and confess from the driver's seat.
"It's a lot like the drive-thru at McDonald's," Felicity de Fombelle said.
It's a lot like the drive-thru at McDonald's
- Felicity de Fombelle
She took part on Saturday and said there were four or five cars behind her waiting to do the same.
"No Catholic has ever been to a drive-thru confession but it works. I left with a lighter heart," the mother of four from Curtin said.
She felt that it made what might normally be a forbidding experience for some Catholics easier.
Other denominations are also being innovative. The Presbyterians have a string of broadcasts of special services planned from this Thursday - Maundy Thursday - until Sunday.
On Thursday, the Reverend David Campbell of St Andrews in Manuka said there would be a "tenebrae service" where candles are extinguished one by one, leaving the church in darkness (and, he hoped, the worshippers at home, reflective). As the darkness descended, readings of scripture would be interspersed with organ music.
On Sunday, reduced forms of the usual services would be broadcast, with an extra service for the Indonesian community.
The government's rules for churches have been relaxed. They are now classed as places of work so more than two can gather. The result is that churches are recording services with minimal participants and without congregations.
The Horizon Church in Duffy is planning to broadcast pre-recorded services and then hold Zoom meetings afterwards.
Zoom is a video-conferencing platform where many people can talk to each other, and all in vision.
The Horizon Church normally gets about 60 participants in a service. The idea of a virtual prayer meeting is that they all meet online initially and then separate into smaller, more manageable groups for prayers and discussions, all connecting through Zoom.
The church is also planning an online Easter egg hunt. Eggs will be hidden in homes and the children will then hunt for them while keeping visual phone contact with the others in the group. The Anglicans plan to broadcast services.
The Rector of St John's Church in Reid, the Reverend Paul Black, and Canon Margaret Emil were to record different parts of the service separately and then put them online.
There had been requests for funerals to be broadcast so bereaved families could feel they were involved.
- For information on COVID-19, please go to the ACT Health website or the federal Health Department's website.
- You can also call the Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080
- If you have serious symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, call Triple Zero (000)
Our COVID-19 news articles relating to public health and safety are free for anyone to access. However, we depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support. If you're looking to stay up to date on COVID-19, you can also sign up for our twice-daily digest here.