Last year, I preached the Good Friday and Easter Morning Services to an empty room with a camera set up to stream everything to Facebook. All of the other churches in town, and across the country, had the same experience. Like everything that happened in 2020, church services for Easter were cancelled due to the lockdowns. Most churches had had the opportunity to adapt by that point and were streaming their services or running worship online via Zoom or other apps. In the weeks before Easter Sunday, I made it a point to joke that we would still have our church's breakfast, only it would be me eating breakfast on a live stream. It was a strange and disheartening year. All of our face to face time with the church family took place on screens. The fellowship, joy, community worship, eating together as the body of Christ, and everything else associated with the services, was absent. We sang alone in our separate houses, ate alone, and worshipped alone. Though we often think of Christmas as the big church event of the year, Good Friday and Easter are the days we celebrate God's free gift of forgiveness for our sins through Jesus' death on the cross and the assurance that eternal life is real through the resurrection on Easter morning. These are my favorite services to share with my friends and family because the Bible tells us that in Jesus we are adopted into God's family. We are brothers and sisters, united through God's amazing grace. Not celebrating together last year didn't change the truth of Easter, but it did take something important away. This year the pandemic has passed through our community and most of the churches in town have resumed their weekly in-person services, though in some instances there are restrictions and changes in consideration of the danger for potentially spreading the virus. It is a perfect opportunity to gather, rejoin our community and church families, and celebrate Easter together. Each of the five churches in town is offering some sort of service, with different combinations of online and in-person meeting.
Saint Margaret Mary's Catholic Church- Father Joseph Tran will be doing Holy Week services with some minor variations this year. They will be holding a Maundy Thursday Mass at 6 PM on the 1st, though there will be no foot washing due to covid concerns. The Liturgy on Friday the 2nd will take place at 6 PM, though there will be no kissing the cross during the service. Attendees will be encouraged to genuflect or offer some other sign of respect. There will be an Easter Vigil on Saturday evening at 8 PM. Easter Mass will be held at 8:30 AM Sunday morning.
Big Sandy Church of God- All of our services will be offered in person and streaming online through our Facebook page, where they can be viewed while they take place or afterward. We are offering a Good Friday service at 6 PM on Friday the 2nd. On Easter Morning, we are running an 8:30 AM early service and our regular service at 11 AM. Starting at 9:30, we will be have a pancake breakfast for anyone who would like to join us. We encourage people to wear masks.
Christ Lutheran Church- Pastor Sean Jansen will be preaching the Good Friday service at Christ Lutheran's sister church in Havre. The service will be live-streamed on the Christ-Messiah Lutheran Parish Facebook page. The service is at 6 PM on Friday the 2nd. Christ Lutheran is doing their Easter morning service at 11 AM on Easter Sunday. Christ Lutheran will be hosting an Easter Brunch at 10 AM that morning, before the service. They strongly recommend wearing a mask. They will not be doing a Maundy Thursday foot washing service this year due to Covid concerns.
Grace Lutheran Church- Pastor Rich Jesperson will be hosting worship from his home for services this week. Most people currently attend online through the Zoom app, though some attend in person at 246 Riney Street, here in Big Sandy. The church will be offering Maundy Thursday services at 7 PM on Thursday the 1st. Their Easter morning service will take place at 10:30 AM. If you are interested in joining via Zoom, contact Rich Jesperson at 406-378-2433. They will not be eating their traditional easter breakfast this year. Rich explains that despite the restrictions, "He is still risen nevertheless. Alleluia!"
The Big Sandy United Methodist Church- Pastor Laverna McGrew will be leading services on Easter morning at 11 AM. It will be a communion service.
