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Easter revival

Churches welcome back worshippers

By Nate Powles 6 min read

A day to celebrate resurrection and new life, this Easter some local churches are celebrating their own new life and new beginnings.

Since the start of COVID-19's rampage in the U.S. last March, many businesses and organizations have been forced to adapt and even close -- some temporarily, others permanently. The Easter season and Holy Week followed soon after the pandemic began and churches were not able to meet for one of the two pinnacle holidays on the Christian calendar.

Now that services for many churches have resumed, pastors and parishioners are eager to celebrate together. Tony DeGol, secretary for communications for the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, shared that many of the parishes in the region have been meeting in person for several months, but Easter still carries an extra significance this year.

"It has been a difficult year for everyone, and I think this Easter in particular is going to be particularly joyful for our parishioners," DeGol said. "Last Easter, there were no public Masses so people were unable to be in the church, so I think this Easter is kind of an opportunity to renew once again."

That thought echoed across other denominations and congregations, with Brian Sandell, pastor of Second Avenue United Methodist Church in Altoona, saying there really is no more significant or appropriate time to welcome members back to the church than during Holy Week -- especially those who might not have felt comfortable returning in-person to this point.

"It definitely is a powerful thing to welcome the people of God back into the house of the Lord for this Easter celebration when we couldn't do it last year," Sandell said.

Sandell and DeGol both said that their churches have been offering virtual options to members, and Sandell said online attendees have been very faithful at Second Avenue. DeGol said not all parishes had the capability to set up livestreams at the start of the pandemic, but now most have the necessary equipment and have received positive feedback from parishioners at home.

While many churches have already been meeting in person for several months, if not longer -- like Second Avenue and the majority of parishes across the diocese -- others have had a bumpier road or have just taken a more cautious route.

Center City Church of Altoona and Vineyard Altoona have made several adjustments and changes to their gatherings since the start of the pandemic.

Center City changed locations not long after COVID-19 appeared, and once they were able to reopen, the church had to meet at the Mishler Theatre downtown while the new church building was renovated. Renting out that space meant that Center City was not always guaranteed the building's availability every weekend.

Pastor Jim Kilmartin said they met at Lakemont Park a couple times over the summer and had other outside services along the way. All those changes, along with varying comfort levels for some members, brought shifts in attendance over that time, but there have been recent upward trends with Kilmartin attributing some of that to the recent drop in daily COVID-19 cases around the region and with the availability of the vaccine.

"We had about half of our attendance after we reopened, and now we're back to almost where we were before COVID hit," Kilmartin said. "There are definitely some people that after they've had the vaccine have come back."

The outdoor service format seemed to draw more people back in as well, Kilmartin said.

"We noticed that over the summer when we would do outdoor services at Lakemont, there were a lot of other people who would come that didn't necessarily come when we were inside," Kilmartin said.

Sandell and DeGol echoed the recent uptick in attendees across the board.

"In the past month or two, more and more people are coming to Mass and I assume that is because more people are getting vaccinated and the number of cases each day is lower than in the fall and winter months," DeGol said.

The Mishler is closed for Easter, so Kilmartin said Center City plans to meet outside once again, near their new building beside the Mishler. He hopes that will draw back those who have not felt comfortable meeting inside for at least this Holy Week. Kilmartin said he sees this Easter as a gift to be grateful for.

"This year is beautiful because we have the opportunity to celebrate in person and not take it for granted," Kilmartin said.

Vineyard Altoona has had a completely unique experience compared to other local congregations. When the pandemic started, the church shut down and shifted to virtual Zoom services. During the summer, they reconvened outside for services with social distancing in place, along with every other precaution recommended by the CDC -- masks, sanitization and elimination of high-contact practices, such as communion and offering collections.

Pastor Derek Heilmann said that the church can account for all of its members, although some decided to leave during the adjustment period. He said for the most part, however, members have been receptive to all the changes and have acclimated.

"Our church has had as a policy since the fall that masks are required to be a part of it," Heilmann said. "People in our church have just been respectful of each other."

According to a recent study conducted during the pandemic, millennials and Generation Z were the age ranges most likely to stop attending church with the adoption of the online format.

Matthew Geiner, a student at Penn State Altoona, said that it became difficult at times -- especially as the weeks went by -- to feel engaged or be interested in attending church when it was just a Zoom meeting.

"It felt more like a chore to get up and turn on my computer to watch church Sundays rather than a joyful experience going to church," Geiner said.

Vineyard hosted a variety of virtual events and small, socially-distanced gatherings and Geiner said that helped him feel some level of community and fellowship. Without that, he felt the online class schedule college students have now would have just blended with church and it all would have felt the same.

"As a student during this time, we have had weeks of constant online classes, learning through a screen, and it will be a nice break learning things in person," Geiner said.

Vineyard had most recently been meeting in small church groups in various houses across the community, but leadership decided to reopen once a month in the basement of the Salvation Army Worship Center to see who was comfortable returning. Heilmann said the response was so great that they decided to start meeting in person for the foreseeable future starting Easter Sunday. That starting point feels like the perfect timing to Heilmann.

"The whole idea of Easter is the idea that the dead can rise," Heilmann said. "So at some level, it has felt like a dark time of being not as we want to be. Beginning to meet again on the day that we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus feels symbolic."

Mirror Staff Writer Nate Powles at 814-946-7466.

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