Easter in Will County: ‘It’s a huge improvement over last year’

COVID-19 can’t stop Easter from coming – and at 9 a.m. Sunday morning, a small hand bell choir at St. Peter Lutheran Church in Joliet will once again ring out the message that Jesus Christ has risen.

“We actually haven’t had our bell choir during all of COVID, and, I think, even before COVID,” church secretary Michele Ryjewski said. “It’s been a while since it played. It’s kind of exciting that it’s going to be play again.”

While Easter services in the Will County area won’t look like they did pre-pandemic, they also won’t be completely remote, as was almost universally the case last year, leading the Rev. Loy Schlote of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Joliet to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from his balcony.

Many of the services leading up to Easter remained remote, although some churches, – such as St. Mary Nativity in Joliet, did host smaller services inside the church.

Bishop Ronald A. Hicks will celebrate Easter Sunday Mass in Spanish at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Joliet and a vigil Mass Saturday night at Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus.

Reservations for socially distanced live Masses at St. Mary Immaculate Parish in Plainfield were filled quickly.

Other churches, such as St. Edward and Christ Episcopal Church in Joliet, were hosting remote-only services. However, the church will return to in-person services April 11, according to its website.

And the New Lenox Ministerial Association, known for its annual dramatic cross walks, did create a virtual cross walk this year, which people can view anytime on the Facebook page of Lincolnway Christian Church in New Lenox.

Steve Baker, pastor of Lincolnway Christian Church, said seven New Lenox churches and Joliet Area Community Hospice each contributed a video segment of the cross walk, and people at Baker’s church assembled the parts into a 30-minute video.

For instance, Lincolnway Christian Church took an artistic approach by recording the confrontation between Jesus and Pontius Pilate outside.

“Others read in their buildings. Some churches took a song and recorded that,” Baker said. “And some of our leaders recorded a devotional. It was a challenge for some of the churches. But it’s cool to see what everybody tried to throw out there.”

Participating churches included St. Jude Catholic Church, Peace Lutheran Church, United Methodist Church, Grace Episcopal Church, Trinity Lutheran Church and St. John Kochurov Orthodox Chapel.

But some churches still feel that remote services, no matter how creatively delivered, cannot fully take the place of an in-person gathering.

The Rev. Cameron J. Moore, pastor of St. Mark Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Joliet, moved Sunday services to the parking lot in August.

“It’s just a chance to gather [the] body of believers and to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior and to just enjoy the fellowship of one another,” Moore said. “We’ll be social distancing and wearing masks and all that. But it’s an opportunity for the church to gather as a church.”

Most of the senior churchgoers do stay in their cars, Moore said. The church will set up five pop-up tents and chairs, too. And it will distribute treat bags for the children, Moore said.

St. Mark’s Christian moved its services to Facebook Live and Zoom for the winter months. But the idea of “doing conference calls” for Sunday worship just “never rang true for me,” because they lack the energy of everyone’s shared love for God, Moore said.

“This Sunday is supposed to be 73 degrees,” Moore said. “So I thought, ‘Let’s bring it back.’ ”

The Rev. Jerome Kish, pastor of St. Mary Nativity and Holy Cross churches in Joliet, will offer all the Easter Sunday Masses in the parking lot of St. Mary Nativity. Kish also will host the traditional blessing of the Easter baskets Saturday night in the parking lot.

Many people of Eastern European descent prepare certain traditional foods for Easter and bring them to the church on Holy Saturday for the priest to bless. But Kish finds the blessing problematic, whether it’s inside or outside the church.

“The smoked sausage smells so delicious, and I am not permitted to sample while I’m doing the blessing,” Kish said with a smile.

Kish said he moved Sunday Masses to the parking lot in July and that decision has “really increased our participation,” he said. Unlike Moore, Kish celebrated parking lot Masses through the winter, too.

In warm weather, Kish celebrated Mass outside. In cold or inclement weather, he celebrated from the vestibule. Either way, many of the attendees could see him, he said. People tuned in to a special FM station on their car radios to follow along. After Mass, those who were comfortable entering the church received Holy Communion, he said.

Kish said that last Easter, when he celebrated Mass alone in the church and livestreamed it, was his “loneliest Easter.” So this year, Kish is thankful even for socially distanced, Masses in the parking lot.

“I know many people are itching to get back to things the way they were,” Kish said. “But it’s a huge improvement over last year.”