Looking at religion during the COVID-19 pandemic

'People want hope': Looking at religion during the COVID-19 pandemic

Like many other aspects of life during the COVID-19 pandemic, religious observations have also been altered.

Worshipers weren't able to congregate inside local churches on Easter or other recent Sunday mornings, but many have been able to take part in services via the internet.

People have gathered in vehicles for park and pray events outside local hospitals and Catholic confessions have been heard outdoors.

"People want hope," said the Rev. Eric Coher, lead pastor at Cape Bible Chapel. "That's the bottom line. They want something that they can latch onto that gives lasting hope."

While the church remained closed, one churchgoer sat outside of St. Mary's Cathedral to pray the rosary Monday, April 13, 2020, in Cape Girardeau. The prayer asked to remain anonymous, but said her actions were a non-violent protest against everything going on as she prayed for the health of all.Ben Matthews ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com

Coher said his church's congregation is made up of people who "struggle at times of uncertainty just like the rest of the world."

He said when life is going along without a hiccup, it is easy to forget about "our desperate need for Christ."

"But when something like this happens, it immediately confronts us, one with our own smallness. That we're not as big as we think we are, that we aren't as strong as we think we are," Coher said. "It confronts us with our own mortality."

Coher said the leadership at the church has divided up the available contacts and has been making regular phone calls to people to check in with them.

"Since we're not able to meet together physically on Sunday mornings, we want to make sure that we're doing as good of a job as we can shepherding the congregation, albeit from afar," he said.

First Baptist Jackson senior pastor Troy Richards delivers a sermon to more than 50 vehicles in attendance at the church's drive-in service held Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020, in Jackson.Ben Matthews ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com

Coher said he thinks people tend to be hopeful during those conversations.

"There's some much going on. There's this news story. There's this soundbite. There's, you know, this picture. There's this circulating," Coher said. "And it can be overwhelming and dizzying. And so we want to encourage our people to be anchored to or tethered to Christ."

The Rev. Allan Saunders, pastor at St. Mary Cathedral in Cape Girardeau, said he's seen people commenting and interacting through church services that have been livestreamed online.

"They're connecting with each other a lot of times," Saunders said. "But I think it's more a matter of looking for community. ... Something to bring them together."

The Rev. Steve McKeown, pastor emeritus at Christian Life Church in Herrin, Illinois, spoke at the Easter sunrise service at Bald Knob Cross of Peace in Alto Pass, Illinois.

Statler siblings Bella, 7, and Carter, 4, of Oak Ridge, take part in a "park and pray event with their parents Paige and Rusty Statler, in passenger and driver seats respectively, on Tuesday, March 31, 2020, outside Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau.Jacob Wiegand ~ jwiegand@semissourian.com

"Of all the crazy stuff that we're having to deal with regard to COVID-19 and social distancing and families not able to gather, not able to celebrate graduation. ... It's just like our world has come to this screeching halt and the message of Easter is a message of hope because the grave's empty," McKeown said of what he was trying to convey to viewers of the service. "That's the central message."

The images seen here were captured by Southeast Missourian photojournalists who were on hand for many of the previously-mentioned happenings. More images can be found in the online photo gallery.