‘Long Good Friday’ of COVID-19 will be replaced by ‘new life’ this Easter, Harrisburg pastor says

The holiest date on the Christian calendar is taking on even more potency and poignancy amid the blossoming signs of emerging from the coronavirus, a Harrisburg pastor says.

His church is welcoming back its congregation for in-person worship for the first time in a year this Easter, and his Sunday sermon draws a direct parallel between Jesus’ resurrection and society’s rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You can’t have Easter without good Friday,” said Kristopher R. Sledge, lead pastor of The Journey Church of Harrisburg. “Jesus was persecuted. Jesus was murdered. Jesus took on the sins and the suffering of mankind. The story at that moment was Jesus died.”

This past year, the coronavirus’ scourge has seemed just as biblical, the pastor added.

“I feel like we lived good Friday for a year now – a season of death,” Sledge said, previewing his Easter Sunday sermon. “Life has felt dark and gloomy for so long. There has been story after story, day after day, week after week, of feeling pain and difficulty and tragedy.”

While he isn’t declaring the virus defeated, Sledge is proclaiming a moment of new hope this Easter. It’s one his congregation will be able to experience and celebrate inside the church’s sanctuary, albeit wearing masks and observing social distance guidelines. It marks a major turning point after a year’s worth of spiritual worship streamed online, he said.

“They are tired of online. They are tired of the Internet all the time,” Sledge said. “The thing we have celebrated for 2,000 years is the news that Easter brings new life. There’s a new day coming. There’s new hope, new peace and new love coming. That may come through a vaccine. That may come through things going to a new normal. We will open our doors, and our church will celebrate that new life. It’s like we’re beginning to live Easter a little bit.”

It’s also why the holiday will feel like a family reunion at The Journey Church.

“I haven’t seen some of the people I love in a year,” Sledge said of his 125-member congregation. “I’ve seen them on Zoom. I’ve talked to them on the phone. But that’s not the same. It’s almost like it will be a family reunion.”

All of it, the people in the pews and the potent Easter metaphor as it relates to COVID-19, is sure to supercharge Sledge’s Easter Sunday sermon. After a year of preaching into the dead eye of a video camera amid an empty sanctuary, the pastor said the passion and pleasure of addressing his assembled congregation will be a blessing he’ll never take for granted.

“I’m a people person. I get energy from people. So I’m looking forward to that,” he said. Pastor Kris Sledge of The Journey Church

Pastor Kris Sledge of The Journey Church at 750 South 29th St. in Harrisburg, photographed March 10, 2021. | Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com

The church’s Easter return did not happen without much discussion and even more prayer. In the end, the spiritual renewal of uniting in prayer on the holiest of holy days was too meaningful to miss.

“I think many people are longing for a sense of normalcy and a place of peace,” Sledge said. “For them, coming back to this place will be a time of healing and a place of peace. I’m excited to see them. I’m excited for them to see each other. And we will all celebrate Easter together.”

Of course, the church will continue to livestream its services for those not yet comfortable attending in-person, he added. The new technology also has extended the reach of the church’s – and Jesus’ – message, bringing in new members this past year, even when people couldn’t actually come into the church.

“We’re not the same exact church that we were a year ago. Our family has grown; we are better,” Sledge said.

While some congregation members did pass away over the year, none lost their lives to COVID-19, the pastor added.

Still, the long coronavirus year has been anything but easy. Sledge said his congregation had its share of COVID-19 crosses to bear: Job losses, furloughs, home foreclosures, mental health issues, marriage strains, family pressures – and simply being stressed out.

“We are experiencing it all,” he said. “This has been really real for people in our church. It always boils down that people want to belong and feel that they are thought of, cared for and loved. They want to have connection with other people. With COVID, we lost some of our normal places where we connect and feel like we belong.”

Sledge said he’s done his best to minister via social media and meeting apps, such as Zoom, and by simply picking up the phone.

“I have been intentional as a pastor to just text people or call people,” he said. “We have re-defined what connection looks like. I just want to help people feel connected. They don’t have to navigate this alone.”

There’s also a Zoom “coffee klatch” following every service for people looking to connect or seek support. And the church holds virtual Bible studies and discussions weekly.

Pastor Kris Sledge of The Journey Church at 750 South 29th St. in Harrisburg, photographed March 10, 2021. | Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com

When the church saw a chance to reach out to the youngest and most vulnerable of its neighbors, it swung open its doors to students displaced by the Harrisburg School District, which switched to virtual learning last March.

The Journey decided to host 15 students in its basement classroom space. The students, only one of whom is from the church, have access to a school-provided breakfast and lunch, along with adult supervision by church volunteers, Internet access, social-distanced desk space and the comfort of heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer for up to eight hours a day.

“We couldn’t worship here; we couldn’t sing here; but the church was bold enough to say, ‘Let’s open up our space’,” Sledge said. “The ministry is bigger than a service on Sunday. We also want to love our neighborhood and our city. We live here, and we want to support it, be part of it.”

In short, it’s what Jesus would do. But for those who believe the pandemic, itself, was part of God’s plan, Sledge is ready with his rebuttal.

“God is someone who doesn’t cause global pandemics to happen,” he said. “But God is so much a part of it with us. God is near. Yes, these are desperate, difficult, tiring days. We sit in the uncomfortableness. We wrestle with that -- Who is Jesus in the midst of a global pandemic?”

The pastor’s answer is unequivocal: “God is a healer,” he says. Moreover, His good news is coming this Easter Sunday.

“We know in our faith that there is good news at the end of this. This will end, and there is a new day. Jesus offers us a new life,” Sledge said. “We can celebrate a new life -- the newness of whatever the word will feel like in a few months. We will live that out on Easter Sunday.”

Reuniting after a long, difficult year of COVID-19, this congregation will rejoice together in Jesus’ resurrection – and their own.

https://patriots.win/p/12i3zI8ZAu/covid19-camps-officially-opened-/c/

A day in the life of Doug Gaines...

https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/3946189/posts?page=124

good man. God Bless Douglas Keith Gaines. R.I.P., sir. love

I will be attending services for my friend Doug on Good Friday.

I cannot describe to you enough about what he overcame to make a great life for his son, daughter, wife, grandchildren and those around him.

Pennsylvania Ping!

Please ping me with articles of interest.

FReepmail me to be added to the list.

Thank God for Texas - we’ve been back live since last May, with social distancing in the sanctuary, but there has been zero increase in cases at our church. Zero. FEAR IS NOT FROM GOD.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.