Most churches will remain closed on Easter despite President Trump saying Tuesday that he hoped the pandemic would be sufficiently checked by then to have them “packed.”
“Wouldn’t it be great to have all the churches full?” Trump said during a Fox News interview. “You’ll have packed churches all over our country. I think it’ll be a beautiful time.”
But after already canceling their in-person services through Easter because of the coronavirus pandemic, many churches are not prepared to risk reopening. Catholic and Episcopal dioceses in every state have canceled. Many megachurches, as well as smaller congregations, have made similar decisions, advising their members to participate in worship through live-streamed services.
In Ohio, Catholic bishops in mid-March worked with Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration to cancel all in-person church activities in keeping with the state’s ban on gatherings of 100 or more people. On Sunday, the state issued a “stay at home” order through April 6 with an exemption for churches. Even with that order, Catholic churches in Ohio will remain closed through Easter, which is on April 12.
In Michigan, where Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday exempted churches from a statewide shutdown, many are not taking the risk of opening up for Easter. Churches in the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit and the Diocese of Lansing will remain closed to public services for the foreseeable future, spokesmen for both said.
The same is true for many evangelical churches. Kensington Church, the largest evangelical congregation in the Detroit area, told the Washington Examiner that out of respect for the safety of its congregants, it has moved its operations online until further notice.
The Episcopal Diocese of Michigan has gone even further. On Tuesday afternoon, it completely closed churches, even for private prayer, indefinitely.
“I long for the time when we will once again be able to gather together to pray, to receive the sacraments, to laugh, to cry, to dance, and to serve,” Bishop Bonnie Perry wrote in a letter to church members. “That time will come. For now, we are all affected by this pandemic and working together we will come through this very difficult time.”
Elsewhere, many churches also do not plan to reopen for Easter services. Following Trump’s comments, the Archdiocese of New York, where the coronavirus outbreak in the United States has been the worst, stated that priests will continue to celebrate mass in private, but Easter mass will not be open to the public.
In Washington, D.C., churches are tightening their lockdowns after a Tuesday afternoon order from Mayor Muriel Bowser that directed all nonessential businesses to close. The Episcopal Washington National Cathedral, one of the largest church buildings in the U.S., has moved completely online, closing its buildings and offices.
Other churches in the area followed suit. Georgetown Presbyterian Church, which has been streaming services following a member’s exposure to the coronavirus at the Conservative Political Action Conference, announced on Wednesday that it is also moving everything involved with the church’s operations online until the order is lifted. Christ Church in Georgetown, where the first case of the coronavirus in the city was confirmed, has canceled all events. The church’s pastor, Timothy Cole, is still in intensive care, leaving the church’s Easter plans uncertain, spokesman Rob Volmer told the Washington Examiner.
Nationwide, church cancellations have stretched far beyond Easter. The Southern Baptist Church on Tuesday canceled its general conference, scheduled for July, due to uncertainty about when it will be safe to gather in large groups. The decision followed the United Methodist Church’s announcement last week that it postponed its 2020 general conference, which was set to be held in May. Church leadership cited “health and safety of all affected amid the coronavirus pandemic” in its reasoning.
Trump appeared to walk back his comments about opening churches by Easter during a Tuesday evening press briefing, saying, “We’ll only do it if it’s good.” He then added, “I just think it would be a beautiful timeline.”
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said Wednesday that Trump’s comments about opening the country and churches up by Easter may have come as a surprise to his advisers tasked with leading the coronavirus response.
“I don’t know how well-informed they were,” Grisham said during an interview on Fox News. “I think that the president, as he has been doing, is very hopeful and wants to have a message of hope to the American people.”
