It was the fourth Sunday of Lent, and at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Fayetteville the Rev. Jason Tyler was calling on the nearly 1,100 members and visitors he could not see to actively engage in the 9 o'clock Mass.
"For everyone watching at home, or by livestream, I encourage you to say the responses that would normally come," Tyler said. "Stand at the appropriate times, kneel at the appropriate times and sit at the appropriate times.
"Watch not in the way that you would watch just any movie, but with a kind of real intention, a real participation in ... a Lenten Mass, as if you were here."
The Catholic priest was one of a growing number of faith leaders in Arkansas who addressed congregations Sunday either from an empty church sanctuary or from his or her home. Their wording differed, but the messages conveyed common themes of hope, perseverance and reminders of one's closeness to God despite the reality of being at a physical distance from others.
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The remote services were a precaution taken before Gov. Asa Hutchinson's mandate that became effective Friday banning indoor gatherings of more than 10 people, but exempts places of worship and other groups.
The virus has spread to most countries worldwide and all 50 states, resulting in more than 20,000 deaths worldwide and more than 1,000 in the United States since surfacing in December.
"Of all the terms being thrown around to describe this time, one of the most common has been 'apocalyptic,'" the Rev. Ragan Sutterfield said Sunday, as he and the Rev. Kate Alexander led a livestreamed worship service Sunday.
Movies with titles such as Contagion are among those most streamed in recent days, he noted from the sanctuary of Little Rock's Christ Episcopal Church, handing down a pop-culture idea that apocalypse is an ending of the world.
"That is far from the biblical sense," Sutterfield said of the notion. "Apocalypse in Scripture means an unveiling and uncovering -- a way of moving into a different perspective, a heavenly view; apocalypse isn't the time when the world suddenly ends but instead is the moment when the reality of what is the lasting, what is really good and valuable, [is] set it in stark contrast to the illusions of the moment."
Sutterfield said his wife, Emily, told him recently of the prayer she gives for their family each day: for God's perspective, that it might supersede worldly concerns; to recognize God's presence; and peace, "the reality we experience when we live with God's perspective and presence."
"This does not mean that we won't suffer, that we won't experience loss as finite creatures. This is part of our reality," he added. "But God's abiding goodness means that whatever comes our way, God will be there to wrap us in this peace and love ... that can transcend any fear ... that can reach even into the depths of the grave.
"Perspective, presence, peace -- this should become our prayer in this time."
George Parks Jr., pastor of New Hope Baptist Church of North Little Rock and Conway, spoke of the potential to let a distance from others in one's community spill over into one's spiritual life and result in a distancing from God.
New Hope held a physical service -- albeit with parishioners and singers practicing the six-foot suggestion of social distancing -- while those at home could watch its livestream.
"The question before us this morning is this: Have we consciously or unconsciously pushed God to the background?" Parks said. "Have we begun to think, 'Can God really be on our side? Is God on our side to let all of this happen of what's going on in the world -- a pandemic in Italy, in China, as well as in America, and locust [swarms] have now taken over Africa?'
"We've been so overwhelmed and so inundated with headlines. Our homes have been transformed into makeshift classrooms and grocery stores have become battlegrounds that you have ceased to pray, to fail to take some quiet time and talk to God.
"Listen, life is indeed tough, but no matter how tough life is, life is unbearable without God. Yes, the prices of things have shot up and, yes, gas prices have gone down, and it seems like we don't know which way to turn -- and it seems like life has us in a vise grip -- but I'm here to tell you you can handle the vise grips of life if you have God on your side."
Tyler expressed hope for three developments as a result of the situation created by covid-19: a hunger for worship through the Eucharist, more unity in families and a more united society.
"Even as God did not will this upon us, he can and does use evil situations to bring about some good," Tyler said.
The Rev. Brittany Watson of First United Methodist Church described some of the events in the days to come that anyone will be able to take part in, including a group on Wednesdays where participants can sign on, catch up with one another, and share a devotional or prayer through video or audio only.
"It's a chance for us to speak face to face, or voice to voice, check in and remind ourselves what it means to be a church in the world today," Watson said. "You're the church; you're our first church.
"God is working through you and even from your homes. Even from your responsibly, socially distanced space, God is at work."
Religion on 03/28/2020