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In midst of holy week, churches reach congregants through technology

Robert McGuire, minister for the First Christian Church in Chester, stands before a flatbed tow truck that will act like a stage during the church’s drive-in service. (Photo by Stephanie Ujhelyi)

CHESTER, W.Va. — As the Easter holiday approaches, some pastors have urged their congregations to defy quarantine order. Others have elected to alter their procedures to try and keep parishoners safe, like two churches in the tri-state area.

In the case of the West Virginia-based Chester First Christian Church, Robert McGuire, who serves as their minister, decided to take services on the road.

For the past two Sundays, the congregation has conducted their Sunday morning services drive-in style at the Chester municipal building,

McGuire explained that the move was necessary for the mission at hand, accommodating as many individuals, who could enjoy the worship from the comfort of their own vehicles.

More than two dozen vehicles showed up for this past Sunday’s services, which included communion, gospel music by McGuire and a sermon off the back of a flatbed tow truck serving as a stage.

For sound, attendees, nestled comfortably in their vehicles, listened along on their radios at 88.3 on the FM dial, while they perused their Bibles and could be seen praying along with McGuire.

It was a monumental task and for that McGuire had some assistance. In addition to a sound engineer/videographer livestreaming the Sunday service live online, parishoners were invited to take communion by two masked men at their car windows.

Elders Kevin Householder and Donald Staggers were clearly up for the task, carrying around trays filled with small plastic cups made into individual servings of grape juice and a communion wafer.

Word of mouth apparently had spread, as last week’s number of cars had nearly doubled. “We had been looking for a way to meet, while still respecting the guidelines,” McGuire explained.

This wasn’t a far cry for the church, which had been livestreaming its services on Facebook Live previously.

McGuire said that most people, when becoming more fearful like during 9/11, look for answers from God, so it wasn’t completely unexpected that they would do the same with the coronavirus. “I want to relay that if we are smart and safe, we will get through this. We want to still worship but want to be safe in doing it,” he said.

In East Liverpool, Larry Rose, who is pastor of the Northside Community Church, said that he had been considering taking his Sunday services online for a while; however, the coronavirus expediated the decision for him.

Congregants at the church, which is located at the corner of Orchard Grove and St. Clair Avenue, had legitimate concerns prior to the issuance of the directives by President Donald Trump and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, so Rose decided it was time to make the leap three weeks ago.

“I’m surprised at the response that we got from people beyond our congregation,” Rose explained. “We wanted to be obedient, so it was a logical move.” He said that they may continue to do it after the danger passes.

Rose said that he tapes the sermons in his study at home. Then they post them to social media and the website. “Times like this gets people’s attention, and they turn to the Lord for answers and comfort,” he explained. One of the toughest restrictions for him as a pastor is being unable to visit the hospitalized folks.

“We have a close congregation to begin with, so we encouraged them to keep constant contact with each other through texts and cards. I also encouraged them to help each other in the time of need,” he said, adding that the church is active with the Way Station and its food distribution. “We have seen the number of people served through that program increase over the past month, and I expect it to grow if the crisis continues.”

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